Born in Scotland, Gordon Brown is often referred to as "a son of the manse".<br /><br />"All I believe and all I try to do come from the values that I grew up with - duty, honesty, hard work, family and respect for others," as he himself puts it.<br /><br />Politics has always been his passion. By the age of 12, he had already pushed Labour Party leaflets through the letter boxes of neighbours' homes. He became a Labour MP in 1983. In the party he was considered to be serious and even gloomy but with a powerful mind and a passion for detail. A man of enormous intelligence - that's what they say about him. In 2006 he was rated the most successful Chancellor of the Exchequer in modern history. But will he be a successful Prime Minister?
