Jack Straw
A Labour Party stalwart who navigated the turbulent waters of the Blair and Brown governments as both Home and Foreign Secretary.
Born 1946 (age 80)·British politician·Birthday: August 3·Baby Boomers
Biography
Jack Straw's political journey began not in the halls of Westminster but in local government, a grounding that informed his pragmatic approach. Elected as MP for Blackburn in 1979, he spent 18 years in opposition before stepping into the bright lights of power with Labour's 1997 landslide. As Home Secretary, he oversaw the controversial incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law, a move that would define legal debates for decades. His shift to the Foreign Office in 2001 placed him at the epicenter of global diplomacy during the fraught post-9/11 era and the run-up to the Iraq War, a conflict he would later express profound regret over. After leaving frontline politics, his long career, marked by a reputation for careful deliberation and occasional surprising candor, cemented his status as a defining figure of his political generation.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Jack was born in 1946, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Jack Was Born
The biggest hits of 1946
#1 Movie
The Best Years of Our Lives
Best Picture
The Best Years of Our Lives
Jack's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1946Born
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1951Started school
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1959Became a teenager
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1962Could drive
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1964Could vote
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1967Turned 21
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1976Turned 30
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1986Turned 40
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 50
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 60
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 70
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2026Turned 80
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as UK Home Secretary from 1997 to 2001, overseeing the Human Rights Act's implementation.
- Held the role of Foreign Secretary from 2001 to 2006, a period encompassing the Iraq War and its aftermath.
- Represented the constituency of Blackburn as its Member of Parliament for 36 consecutive years.
- Was Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice under Prime Minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010.
Did You Know?
His birth name is John Whitaker Straw; 'Jack' is a lifelong nickname.
He was the first in his family to attend university, studying law at the University of Leeds.
Straw revealed in his autobiography that he used the alias 'David' while working as a journalist in Kenya before entering politics.
He served as President of the Oxford Union during his time at the university.
“The Iraq War was the most difficult decision I ever had to take in my political life.”
