Sarah Jane Brown facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sarah Brown
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Brown in 2009
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Sarah Jane Macaulay
31 October 1963 Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England
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| Alma mater | University of Bristol |
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| Children | 3 |
Sarah Jane Brown, born on October 31, 1963, is well-known as Sarah Brown. She is an English activist who works to improve health and education around the world. She is the founder and president of Theirworld, a charity for children. She also leads the Global Business Coalition for Education and co-founded A World at School.
Before her charity work, she helped start Hobsbawm Macaulay Communications. This was a company that helped businesses and organizations communicate with the public. Sarah Brown is married to Gordon Brown. He was the Chancellor of the Exchequer (like a finance minister) from 1997 to 2007. Later, he became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2007 to 2010.
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Early Life and Education
Sarah Jane Macaulay was born in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. This was on October 31, 1963. Her mother, Pauline, was a teacher. Her father, Iain, worked for a publishing company.
When Sarah was two, her family moved to Tanzania. Her mother started a school there. When she was eight, her parents separated. Later, they both remarried. Sarah, her mother, her stepfather, and her two younger brothers moved to North London.
Sarah went to Acland Burghley Secondary School. She also attended Camden School for Girls. After high school, she studied psychology at the University of Bristol.
After university, she worked at a company called Wolff Olins. When she was 30, she started her own public relations firm. It was called Hobsbawm Macaulay. She started it with an old school friend, Julia Hobsbawm. Their clients included the New Statesman magazine and the Labour Party.
In 2000, she married Gordon Brown. In October 2001, she left her company. This was because she was expecting her first child.
Helping Others: Health and Education
Improving Health for Mothers and Babies
In 2002, Sarah Brown started the charity Theirworld. It was first called PiggyBankKids. It began by funding research into problems during pregnancy. In 2004, the charity helped create the Jennifer Brown Research Laboratory. This lab is at the University of Edinburgh.
The lab focuses on both mothers and newborns. They study problems during pregnancy and childbirth. They pay special attention to babies born too early. In 2015, Sarah Brown launched the Theirworld Birth Cohort project. This project tracks 400 babies, mostly born early. They follow their development into adulthood. This helps understand brain injuries at birth. It also helps find new treatments for premature babies.
Helping Children Get an Education
Theirworld also works to improve education around the world. They started the "A World at School" digital movement in 2013. This movement helped create the #UpForSchool petition.
Theirworld also organized a "youth takeover" of the United Nations in 2013. They have campaigned for education for children affected by conflict. This includes refugee children from the Syria crisis in Lebanon.
Sarah Brown is also the founding chair of the Global Business Coalition for Education. This group works with business leaders. They encourage international action to provide good education for all children. She is also part of the High Level Panel for Global Education.
In 2008, Brown became a global patron for the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood. This group advocates for safe motherhood. She also co-founded the Maternal Mortality Campaign. Her work has been recognized by many organizations. She is an adjunct professor at Imperial College London.
In 2009, Sarah Brown spoke at the World Health Organization's 62nd World Health Assembly. She spoke alongside the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. She asked why so many women were still dying during pregnancy and childbirth.
Brown also co-chaired a group on maternal and newborn mortality. This group was launched in September 2009. The Prime Minister of Norway, Jens Stoltenberg, supported this group. He said that mothers dying in childbirth needed a strong voice.
Brown led the launch of a "new consensus for maternal, newborn and child health" at the UN. At this meeting, 10 countries agreed to stop charging medical fees for pregnant women. This was for care around the time of birth. This plan aimed to save millions of lives by 2015. The G8 countries supported these actions.
The #UpForSchool Petition
In 2014, Sarah Brown helped launch the #UpForSchool petition. This was a global campaign started by young people. It began at a rally in New York City. Many important people supported it, including Graça Machel and Gordon Brown. The petition asks world leaders to keep their promise. This promise was to provide primary education for everyone.
Many groups and individuals supported the petition. Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi spoke at the London launch. Other supporters included Malala Yousafzai, Justin Bieber, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Many charities and organizations also joined in. Even Rovio, the creators of Angry Birds, made a special game level for it.
By September 2015, the petition had over 10 million signatures. It was presented at a UNICEF event in New York City. The singer Shakira also helped present the signatures to Gordon Brown.
Other Activities
Sarah Brown uses social media to promote education and maternal health. She has been named one of the most influential women on Twitter by Forbes magazine. In 2014, The Independent newspaper called her the second "most powerful Briton" on Twitter.
Brown is a patron of Women's Aid, a charity that helps people affected by domestic violence. She also supports the SHINE Education Trust. She is an Honorary Patron of Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres.
She is also a patron of the CBI First Women Awards. These awards celebrate women who have achieved great things. They honor women who have opened doors for others.
Sarah Brown is friends with writer J.K. Rowling. They wrote a children's book together. This book was for the One Parent Families charity.
Brown has received many awards for her work. These include the Vision and Impact Award and the Global Leadership Award. She also received an honorary fellowship from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
In 2015, Sarah Brown took part in a special edition of The Great British Bake Off. This was for Comic Relief, a charity event.
Marriage to Gordon Brown
Sarah's relationship with Gordon Brown began in 1994. They met on a flight to a political conference in Scotland. Their relationship was kept private for a few years. In June 1997, a newspaper published a picture of them together.
They got married on August 3, 2000. The wedding was in Gordon Brown's hometown, North Queensferry, Fife.
On December 28, 2001, Sarah gave birth to a baby girl named Jennifer Jane. She was born too early and sadly passed away when she was ten days old. Gordon Brown spoke about Sarah's strength after their daughter's death.
On October 17, 2003, their second child, a son named John, was born. Another son, James Fraser, was born on July 17, 2006. He was later diagnosed with cystic fibrosis.
Spouse of the Prime Minister
Gordon Brown became Prime Minister on June 27, 2007. This happened after Tony Blair resigned. As the Prime Minister's wife, Sarah Brown was generally seen in a positive way. The Guardian newspaper described her as a "modern public figure." They noted her ability to connect with people and use digital media.
Sarah introduced Gordon at the Labour Party Conferences in 2008 and 2009. It was her idea to do this in 2008. She had seen Michelle Obama do something similar for her husband, Barack Obama.
According to authors Anthony Seldon and Guy Lodge, Sarah brought stability to Gordon and his office. She encouraged him to stay in his role until the end. Gordon Brown's time as Prime Minister ended after the 2010 United Kingdom general election. The Conservative Party formed a government with the Liberal Democrats.
Her Memoir
In 2011, Sarah Brown published a book about her time as the Prime Minister's spouse. It was called Behind the Black Door.
The book was written like a diary. Reviewers had different opinions about it. Some called it "fascinating and endearing." Others said it was "perhaps the dimmest diary ever." Some felt it was too focused on praising Gordon Brown.
The Telegraph called it a "strange book" and a "plea for redemption." However, the reviewer found her descriptions of international charity events "fun at last." The Irish Independent described the book as "disturbingly giddy." But it also said that Brown came across as "decent and likeable."
The New Statesman noted that Brown successfully described the "awkwardness of the lifestyle." They felt that some personal moments seemed "airbrushed." However, the book showed how political and personal life can mix in funny ways. They concluded it was full of "thoughtfulness and... courtesy."
Commenting on the book's reception, comedian David Mitchell wrote in The Guardian. He said that the amount of criticism Prime Ministers' wives face is unfair. The Lady magazine concluded that Sarah Brown was a "natural heroine" to many mothers.
See also
In Spanish: Sarah Jane Brown para niños
