Neil Kinnock

Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock (born 28 March 1942) is a British politician. A member of the Labour Party, he served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995, first for Bedwellty and then for Islwyn. He was the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1983 until 1992. Kinnock led the Labour Party to a surprise fourth consecutive defeat at the 1992 general election, despite the party being ahead in most opinion polls, which had predicted either a narrow Labour victory or a hung parliament. Shortly afterwards, he resigned as Leader of the Labour Party, being succeeded in the ensuing leadership election by John Smith. He left the House of Commons in 1995 to become a European Commissioner. He went on to become the Vice-President of the European Commission under Romano Prodi from 1999–2004. Until the summer of 2009, he was also Chairman of the British Council and President of Cardiff University.