British Prime Minister Tony Blair is greeted by supporters at Trimdon Labour Club in his constituency of Sedgfield on May 10, 2007.

He announced that he will be stepping down on June 27, ending his decade-long stint as prime minister.

Blair upheld his promise that his constituency would be the first to know of his resignation as Labour Party leader and prime minister.

He will remain in the post until the Labour Party elects a new leader, who is widely expected to be Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown.

Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images