John Smith QC (13 September 1938 – 12 May 1994) was a British Labour Party politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from July 1992 until his death from a heart attack in May 1994. He was also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Monklands East. Following Smith's death in 1994, he was succeeded as Leader by Blair, who in turn led the party to win the next general election and became Prime Minister three years later.