The British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, seen as a likely successor to Prime Minister Tony Blair, has entered the record book's as Britain's longest serving chancellor of the exchequer, without interruption.
Brown, who became chancellor following the Labour party's return to power on May 2, 1997 , beat the longevity record, set almost a century ago by David Lloyd George, who served as chancellor for seven unbroken years and 43 days from 1908 to 1915.
His rigorous stewardship of Britain's finances has earned him the nickname of 'the iron chancellor'. Under his leadership, the British economy has grown steadily, with average annual growth of 2.7% since 1997.
Unemployment is at its lowest level in 30 years, inflation is under control and interest rates fell to their lowest level in 40 years last autumn before creeping back up to a current 4.5%.
