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Gordon Brown has accepted an invitation from Queen Elizabeth to form her new government, making him Britain's new prime minister.

Brown replaces the outgoing Tony Blair, who earlier Wednesday delivered his resignation to the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

Brown is the 11th politician -- Winston Churchill being the first -- which the Queen has invited.

After his meeting, Brown emerged with a broad smile and made his way to the prime minister's residence at 10 Downing Street.

"This will be a new government with new priorities," Brown said in a statement to reporters outside his new home.

"I've heard the need for change ... and this need for change cannot be met by the old politics," he said. "And now let the work of change begin."

Gordon Brown

Brown, who has spent the last 10 years controlling the national finances as Blair's chancellor of the exchequer, will finally take over after a slow and frustrating rise to power.

"Gordon Brown basically has been waiting many, many years to take over the top job," CTV's London Bureau Chief Tom Kennedy said Wednesday. "It's much like the Paul Martin situation that existed in Canada when Jean Chr�tien was prime minister."

Brown is recognized for his fiscal prudence and commitment to helping Africa with foreign aid.

Labour Party MP Frank Dobson, a former health minister under Blair, said Brown will offer Britain the "opportunity to make a new start."

"I think he's basically a more serious and thoughtful man and given to long-term strategy," Dobson told CTV's Canada AM on Wednesday.

"After all, it's largely to his credit as the finance minister... that we've had the longest period of economic growth in the history of Britain, and that's because he took decisions early on which were intended to be beneficial years ahead."

However, Brown's foreign policy goals and the direction he intends to pursue in Iraq are foggy.

Brown may call for a future inquiry on Iraq, similar to the U.S. Study Group, British media have reported. Recently, Brown said Britain has to "admit where we make mistakes.''

Brown is also expected to exercise an option to call back more of the remaining 5,500 British personnel in Iraq by 2008 -- especially with a national election to call before June 2010.

Francis Beckett, a London-based writer and journalist and author of "Gordon Brown: Past, Present and Future," said Brown is most likely going to pull all of the troops out.

"I would be very surprised if Britain had any troops left in Iraq at the end of 12-months of a Brown premiership," Beckett told Canada AM on Wednesday.

Blair's legacy

In his final speech to Parliament Wednesday, Blair made no apologies for the war in Iraq or Afghanistan.

He did express condolences, as he has in the past, to the families of dead soldiers.

"I am truly sorry about the dangers that they face today in Iraq and Afghanistan," Blair said.

"I know some may think that they face these dangers in vain; I don't and I never will. I believe they are fighting for the security of this country and the wider world against people who would destroy our way of life."

In the short-term, Blair's legacy is most likely to be dominated by Iraq.

"There's a general perception in this country that in some ways Britain was fooled into this war," said Kennedy.

However, Blair's achievements domestically may eventually emerge to balance out his legacy.

"Probably the most successful issue for him has been Northern Ireland," said Kennedy. "Peace has been brought to Northern Ireland (and) there is now a government being run by the people of Northern Ireland."

During his time as prime minister, Blair skillfully combined the Labour party's left-wing social policies with slightly right-wing economic principles -- helping to define his party as New Labour.

At his best, Blair managed to successfully modernize monetary policy, education, health care and unemployment insurance.

Meanwhile, representatives of the so-called Quartet of Mideast peacemakers -- from the U.S., EU, UN and Russia -- announced Wednesday that they've appointed Blair as their representative to promote peace between Israel and the Palestinians

A statement said Blair will seek to mobilize international assistance to the Palestinians and develop plans to help aid Palestinian economic development.

With files from The Associated Press