Tony Blair Associates
| Formation | December, 2008[1] |
|---|---|
| Location | |
Region served | Worldwide |
Tony Blair Associates (TBA) is an umbrella organisation, established by Tony Blair to "allow him to provide, in partnership with others, strategic advice on a commercial and pro bono basis, on political and economic trends and governmental reform".[2] The profits from the firm go towards supporting Blair's "work on faith, Africa and climate change".[3]
History
Founded in December, 2008,[1] TBA's first client was Kuwait. The deal was reported to be worth £27 million for the company.[4]
Blair, with his Quartet and TBA roles, worked with the Khazakstan government, advising the regime on judicial, economic and political reforms.[5]
In June 2014, Blair was looking for an office Abu Dhabi to help attract middle-eastern business for TBA. By July, Blair had been hired to advise on the export of natural gas from Azerbaijan to Europe, a project being run by a consortium of companies led by BP.[6]
Criticism
Blair has been subjected to criticism for potential conflicts of interest between his diplomatic role as a Middle East peace envoy, and his work with Tony Blair Associates,[7][8][9] and a number of prominent critics have even called for him to be sacked from his peace envoy role.[10]
Blair has been subject to criticism after accusations of "whitewashing" the image and human rights record of the regime in Khazakstan.[5] In particular, opposition activists have published an open letter in a Kazak newspaper, Respublika, claiming Blair would have "blood on his hands" if did not stop assisting President Nursultan Nazarbayev.[citation needed] Blair has responded to such criticism by saying his choice to advise the country is an example of how he can "nudge controversial figures on a progressive path of reform", and has stated that he receives no personal profit from this advisory role.[11] The Kazakhstan foreign minister has said that the country was "honoured and privileged" to be receiving advice from Blair.[12][13]
Blair was reported to have accepted a business advisory role with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, a situation deemed incompatible with his role as Middle East peace envoy;[14] Blair described the report as "nonsense".[15]
Consultants
References
- ^ a b "Tony Blair's (Private) Interests in The Secret World of Oil". Verso. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ^ Tony Blair Inc: a nice little earner The Sunday Times, 22 February 2009
- ^ Nicholas, Watt (30 June 2013). "How Tony Blair paved way for first visit by serving British PM to Kazakhstan". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
- ^ "Tony Blair's company 'to make £27m advising Kuwait on how to govern itself'". Daily Mail. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ^ a b Kerbaj, Richard; Ungoed-Thomas, Jon; Fortson, Danny (23 September 2012). "Blair in £16m deal with Kazakhs". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ^ Chazan, Guy. "Tony Blair to advise on Azerbaijan gas project". www.ft.com. Financial Times. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
- ^ Tony Blair's Byzantine world of advisers and lucrative deals The Daily Telegraph, 24 September 2011
- ^ On the desert trail of Tony Blair's millions The Daily Telegraph, 24 September 2011
- ^ The Wonderful World of Tony Blair
- ^ "An appeal to the Quartet on the Middle East to sack Tony Blair". theguardian.com. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ^ Nicholas, Watts (30 June 2013). "How Tony Blair paved way for first visit by serving British PM to Kazakhstan". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
- ^ Watt, Nicholas (30 June 2013). "Kazakhstan praises Cameron and Blair for helping improving country's image". theguardian.com. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
- ^ Swinford, Steven (30 June 2013). "Oil-rich Kazakhstan dictatorship boasts of British support". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
- ^ Milne, Seumas (2 July 2014). "Tony Blair to advise Egypt president Sisi on economic reform". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ^ Haaretz staff (3 July 2014). "Tony Blair denies he signed on as Egyptian president's adviser". haaretz.com. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
- ^ "Good riddance, Tony Blair – you've been tolerated as Middle East envoy for too long". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 May 2015.