Blair to be senior adviser to JPMorgan

BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has taken up a part-time job as strategic adviser to the Wall Street bank JPMorgan Chase, the company said Thursday.

Blair will advise the bank, with assets of 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars and operations in more than 50 countries, on global political and strategic issues, a company statement said.

"We operate our business all over the world, and Tony Blair will bring our leaders and clients a unique and invaluable global perspective that is especially critical in turbulent times like these," said Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of the company, in the statement.

Blair said in the same statement that the job was a "great opportunity" and he looked forward to advising the firm "on how they approach the huge political and economic changes that globalization brings."

The appointment, effective Thursday, will not infringe on Blair's Quartet duties.

Blair left 10 Downing Street in June after a decade as prime minister, and took an appointment as a special envoy for the Middle East Quartet, which hopes to re-energize the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians.

Blair declined to say how much he would be paid for his work with the bank, although media reports put the figure as much as one million dollars a year.

Blair is not the only former world leader to take up the part-time job. His predecessor as prime minister, John Major, became an adviser to private equity firm Carlyle after leaving office, while Margaret Thatcher became a consultant to tobacco group Philip Morris.

(Agencies)