John Smith (Labour Party leader)

The Right Honourable John Smith
Leader of the Opposition
In office 18 July 1992 – 12 May 1994
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	Neil Kinnock
Succeeded by	Margaret Beckett
Leader of the Labour Party
In office 18 July 1992 – 12 May 1994
Deputy	Margaret Beckett
Preceded by	Neil Kinnock
Succeeded by	Tony Blair
Shadow portfolios Secretary of State for Trade In office 11 November 1978 – 4 May 1979 Prime Minister James Callaghan Preceded by Edmund Dell Succeeded by John Nott Minister of State for the Privy Council In office 8 April 1976 – 11 November 1978 Prime Minister James Callaghan Preceded by The Lord Crowther-Hunt Succeeded by The Baroness Birk Minister of State for Energy In office 4 December 1975 – 8 April 1976 Prime Minister Harold Wilson Preceded by The Lord Balogh Succeeded by Dickson Mabon Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy In office 18 October 1974 – 4 December 1975 Prime Minister Harold Wilson Preceded by Gavin Strang Succeeded by The Lord Lovell-Davis Member of the UK Parliament for Monklands East In office 18 June 1970 – 12 May 1994 Preceded by Margaret Herbison Succeeded by Helen Liddell Personal details Born (1938-09-13)13 September 1938 Dalmally, Argyll, Scotland Died 12 May 1994(1994-05-12) (aged 55) London, England Resting place Reilig Odhráin, Iona, Scotland Political party Labour Spouse(s) Elizabeth Bennett (m. 1967) Children 3, including Sarah Education Dunoon Grammar School Alma mater University of Glasgow John Smith (13 September 1938 – 12 May 1994) was a British politician who was the leader of the Labour Party from July 1992 until his death from a heart attack. John Smith was born in the Scottish town of Dalmally in Argyll and Bute. He became a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) at the 1970 General Election for the constituency of North Lanarkshire (Monklands East from 1983). In 1978, he was given a cabinet post however lost this after Labour's defeat at the 1979 General Election. He continued in the shadow cabinet until 1992, when Labour leader Neil Kinnock resigned and Smith was elected leader. During Smith's time as leader, opinion polls showed that Labour were becoming more likely to win an election than the Conservatives. On 12 May 1994 in London, Smith died of a heart attack and was buried on the Scottish isle of Iona. Tony Blair replaced Smith as Labour leader on 21 July 1994. John Smith (Labour Party Leader) Media Smith's birthplace in Dalmally, Glenorchy Gravestone of Smith on the island of Iona, Scotland. The epitaph is from An Essay on Man by Alexander Pope. References