Peter Ashley Thomson (19 March 1936 – 15 January 2010) was an Australian

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

priest, best known for influencing

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

, the future

British prime minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern pri ...

, while they were both at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

.Anthony Seldon, Blair (The Free Press, 2005) He also influenced

Geoff Gallop Geoffrey Ian Gallop (born 27 September 1951) is an Australian academic and former politician who served as the 27th premier of Western Australia from 2001 to 2006. He is currently a professor and director of the Graduate School of Government at ...

, who later became Premier of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. His thought was deeply influenced by the Scottish philosopher John Macmurray. Thomson studied for the priesthood at

Ridley College Ridley College may refer to * Ridley College (Melbourne), Victoria, Australia * Ridley College (Ontario), Canada See also * Ridley Hall, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK * * Ridley (disambiguation) {{schooldis ...

, an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

theological college in Melbourne, but became more radical in his Christianity and passionate about politics as a way for Christians to achieve their social objectives. After several jobs, Thomson attended Oxford to study for two years, where a group of undergraduates gathered around him and were influenced by his approach to politics. This group included both Blair and Gallop. Blair has stated that Thomson awakened his concern for a Christian approach to

left-wing politics Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

References

External links

Indigenous Stock Exchange: People – Peter ThomsonObituary
from Melbourne Anglican diocese 1936 births 2010 deaths 20th-century Australian Anglican priests People educated at Brighton Grammar School Alumni of Ridley College, Melbourne Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Members of the Order of Australia {{Australia-reli-bio-stub