1951- . British Labour politician. He entered
Parliament in 1983, rising quickly to the
opposition front bench, with a reputation as
an outstanding debater. Brown, the son of a
Church of Scotland minister, won a first in
history at Edinburgh University before he was
20. After four years as a college lecturer
and three as a television journalist, he
entered the House of Commons for Dunfermline
East in 1983. He topped the Labour Party
shadow-cabinet poll in 1989.