Foreign policy,

Brown remains committed to the Iraq War, but said in a speech in June 2007 that he would "learn the lessons" from the mistakes made in Iraq.

Brown made his first overseas trip as Prime Minister to Berlin, where he spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

In a speech given to the Labour Friends of Israel in April 2007, Brown stated:

Many of you know my interest in Israel and in the Jewish community has been long-standing…My father was the chairman of the Church of Scotland's Israel Committee. Not only as I've described to some of you before did he make visits on almost two occasions a year for 20 years to Israel — but because of that, although Fife, where I grew up, was a long way from Israel with no TV pictures to link us together — I had a very clear view from household slides and projectors about the history of Israel, about the trials and tribulations of the Jewish people, about the enormous suffering and loss during the Holocaust, as well as the extraordinary struggle that he described to me of people to create this magnificent homeland.

Brown said in a letter published 17 March 2008 that the United Kingdom will hold an inquiry into the Iraq war -- but not soon. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will skip the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics, on 8 August 2008 in Beijing, it was reported on 9 April 2008. But, he will not be boycotting the Olympics and will attend the closing ceremony, on 24 August 2008. Brown has been under intense pressure from human rights campaigners to send a message to China, concerning the 2008 Tibetan unrest. But his decision not to attend the opening ceremony is not an act of protest, the decision was made weeks ago and was not a stand on principle