Job: Tony Blair's ex-director of communications. He resigned in 2003 to spend more time with his partner Fiona Millar, an education journalist, and their three children, but returned to the Labour party briefly in 2010 to coach Gordon Brown for the TV election debates. It was Campbell, says one of his closest friends, who coined the 'People's Princess' phrase in Blair's speech on Diana's death. He has also written several novels.
Background, hobbies & interests: He began his working life in journalism as a Mirror trainee in Plymouth, where he met Fiona, his partner. His main hobbies are running, cycling, bagpipes and following Burnley FC. He admits to a liberal use of profanities in the workplace. He recently won a Royal Television Society Award for a BBC North West documentary he made, Burnley are back, on the impact of Burnley FC's promotion to the Premier League on the town.
What people say: Anthony Seldon, biographer of Tony Blair writes of Campbell: 'His detractors see him as a yob and a bully [but] ... he remoulded Labour's media operation. Campbell's exuberant personality was the most powerful force in Number 10.'
