By Xinhua
London : Tony Blair, a political star for his ten-year rein of Britain, left the country's political stage on Wednesday.
Blair tendered his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II at noon during a closed-door audience with the monarch, paving the way for his successor Gordon Brown to be installed as the new prime minister.
The ten-minute drive from No. 10 Downing Street, the prime minister's official residence, to the queen's Buckingham Palace marked the last journey of his political career in Britain.
The second son of a tax inspector joined the Labour Party shortly after graduating from Oxford in 1975, and climbed up the political ladder to the top post in 1997 after his party won the general election.
Later Wednesday, Blair, as widely expected, was telling a local Labour Party meeting in his constituency of Sedgefield, north east England, that he also quitted entirely as a Member of Parliament.
In a quick move surprising to many people, Blair said goodbye to Britain's political stage, but went international to take up the role of peace envoy to the Middle East.
His new mandate was confirmed by the so-called Middle East Quartet, comprising the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia, shortly after he "lost" his job in the country.
But Blair, facing criticism for dragging Britain into the Iraq war and failure to call for a ceasefire in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, could hardly be credited with his policy in the turbulent region when in office.
Before he met the queen, emotional Blair made his final appearance as the prime minister in the lower house of Parliament, where he responded to as many tributes as he did challenging questions.
Blair opened his last Prime Minister's Questions by expressing condolences to the families of the fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"I am truly sorry about the dangers that they face today in Iraq and Afghanistan," Blair said.
Blair used the last chance to justify his decision to follow the United States into Iraq, which had prompted the most criticism of his leadership.
"I know some may think that they (the British armed forces) face these dangers in vain. I don't and I never will. I believe they are fighting for the security of this country and the wider world against people who would destroy our way of life," he said.
"Whatever view people take of my decisions, I think there is only one view to take of them (the British armed forces): they are the bravest and the best," Blair added.
Blair's main political opponent David Cameron, leader of the opposition Conservative Party, upheld the British way of politeness by paying tribute to Blair's achievements and offering good wishes.
"He has considerable achievements to his credit, whether it is peace in Northern Ireland, whether it is work in the developing world, which I know will endure," Cameron said.
Among the crowd witnessing the historical moment of Blair's resignation around Westminster were a group of protestors against the Iraq war, reminding people of his legacy — a country still divided by the war.
V. Ahuja, a retired man who used to work as an accountant in the City of London, the global financial powerhouse, said he welcome the leadership change, simply for the change itself.
"Tony Blair has been in power for so long time. It is good to see the change," he said.