As it turns out, Steve Jobs could have received an honorary knighthood in 2009, but was blocked by then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown, reports The Telegraph. According to the former senior Labour Party member of parliament who nominated Jobs for the honor, his proposal was in the final stages of approval but was rejected by the Prime Minister.
Jobs would have been knighted for his services to technology, says the former MP. “Apple has been the only major global company to create stunning consumer products because it has always taken design as the key component of everything it has produced. No other CEO has consistently shown such a commitment.”
The former MP was told that the decision to reject the proposal was related to Steve Jobs’ unavailability to speak at the Labour Party’s annual convention. Such an appearance would have been quite politically significant for Gordon Brown, as he would have been seen as able to attract a person of such stature to speak at the convention.
According to the Telegraph, a spokesperson for Gordon Brown denied the allegations, saying “Mr. Brown did not block a knighthood for Steve Jobs.”
It is worth noting that in 2005 Bill Gates was granted an honorary knighthood, and likely did not have to appear to speak at any political conventions in order to get it, either. Honestly though, anyone who thinks it would be easy to get Steve Jobs to come speak at your event, no matter how high profile you are, has seriously underestimated Jobs. Other than an address to Stanford’s graduating class in 2005, Jobs rarely if ever takes speaking engagements, preferring to focus his attention on his work.
Article Via Gizmodo
Photo Credit: Chris Young AP
