George Thomson, Baron Thomson of Monifieth
| The Right Honourable The Lord Thomson of Monifieth KT PC DL FRSE | |
|---|---|
| European Commissioner for Regional Policy | |
|
In office 6 January 1973 – 5 January 1977 | |
| President | François-Xavier Ortoli |
| Preceded by | Albert Borschette |
| Succeeded by | Antonio Giolitti |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Defence | |
|
In office 8 July 1970 – 10 April 1972 | |
| Leader | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Geoffrey Rippon |
| Succeeded by | Fred Peart |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | |
|
In office 6 October 1969 – 20 June 1970 | |
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Frederick Lee |
| Succeeded by | Anthony Barber |
|
In office 6 April 1966 – 7 January 1967 | |
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Douglas Houghton |
| Succeeded by | Frederick Lee |
| Minister without Portfolio | |
|
In office 17 October 1968 – 6 October 1969 | |
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Patrick Gordon-Walker |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Drumalbyn |
| Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs | |
|
In office 29 August 1967 – 17 October 1968 | |
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Herbert Bowden |
| Succeeded by | Michael Stewart (Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs) |
| Member of Parliament for Dundee East | |
|
In office 17 July 1952 – 1 March 1973 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Cook |
| Succeeded by | George Machin |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
16 January 1921 Penn, England, UK |
| Died |
3 October 2008 (aged 87) London, England, UK |
| Political party |
Labour Party (Before 1981) Social Democratic (1981–1988) Liberal Democrats (1988–2008) |
| Spouse(s) | Grace Thomson |
| Children | Caroline |
George Morgan Thomson, Baron Thomson of Monifieth, KT, PC, DL, FRSE (16 January 1921 – 3 October 2008) was a journalist and British politician who served as a Labour Party MP. He was a member of Harold Wilson's cabinet, and later became a European Commissioner.
In the 1980s, he joined the Social Democratic Party. Following the SDP's merger with the Liberal Party, he became a Liberal Democrat and sat as a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords.
Early life
Thomson was educated at Grove Academy, Broughty Ferry, Dundee, and served in the Royal Air Force from 1941–46. He was the assistant editor and then editor of Forward, a socialist newspaper, from 1946–53.[1]
Political career
At the 1950 and 1951 general elections, Thomson stood unsuccessfully in Glasgow Hillhead. In 1952, he was elected Member of Parliament in a by-election for Dundee East, where he served until his resignation in 1972. He served in the Wilson government as Minister of State, Foreign Office, from October 1964 to April 1966, then as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1966–67, and again from 1969–70, Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs from 1967–68, and Minister without Portfolio from 1968–69. During his time as Commonwealth Secretary he had responsibility for trying to reach a settlement of the Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) question and for implementing sanctions against the regime there. He was one of the first British Commissioners of the European Community (EC) from 1973–77, with responsibility for regional policy. As chairman of the Independent Broadcasting Authority from 1981–88 he oversaw the introduction of Channel 4 and TV-am.[2]
He was Chair of the Advertising Standards Authority from 1977–80; Chair of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) 1981–88; a European Commissioner, with responsibility for Regional Policy 1973–76; First Crown Estate Commissioner from 1977–80; and a Member of the Committee on Standards in Public Life from 1994 until 1997. He was Deputy Chair of the Woolwich Building Society from 1988–91. He had been a Lords' Member of the Parliamentary Broadcasting Unit since 1993. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Royal Television Society, and a patron of Sustrans.[3]
In 1985 he was invited to deliver the MacMillan Memorial Lecture to the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland; he chose "Does Public Broadcasting Have a Future? The Challenge of the New Technologies". After moving with his wife, Grace, to Charing, Kent, Thomson held the position of Party President, for Ashford Liberal Democrats, from 1999–2006.
Death
He died on Friday 3 October 2008 at London's St Thomas' Hospital, from a viral infection.[4][5] He was survived by his wife, Grace, Lady Thomson (1925-2014),[6] and their two daughters, Ailsa and Caroline,[7] the former Chief Operating Officer of the BBC.
Honours and styles of address
Honours
Thomson received an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 1973.[8]
Thomson was made a Privy Counsellor in 1966, was created a Life Peer on 23 March 1977 as Baron Thomson of Monifieth, of Monifieth in the District of the City of Dundee,[9] and became a Knight of the Thistle in 1981.[10]
Styles of address
- 1921-1952: Mr George Thomson
- 1952-1966: Mr George Thomson MP
- 1966-1972: The Right Honourable George Thomson MP
- 1972-1977: The Right Honourable George Thomson
- 1977-1981: The Right Honourable The Lord Thomson of Monifeith PC
- 1981-2008: The Right Honourable The Lord Thomson of Monifeith KT PC
References
- ↑ Ian MacDougall, Voices from Work and Home, p.563
- ↑ "Lord Thomson of Monifieth". Retrieved 9 October 2015.
- ↑ "Sustrans: join the movement". Retrieved 4 October 2008.
- ↑ Former Minister Lord Thomson dies
- ↑ Daily Record obituary for Lord Thomson
- ↑ Tam Dalyell "Lady Thomson: Wife of the MP George Thomson who helped smooth her husband’s path to success in Brussels", The Independent, 24 August 2014
- ↑ Tom Leonard "BBC steps into new bias row", Daily Telegraph, 22 July 2000
- ↑ [email protected]. "Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh: Honorary Graduates". www1.hw.ac.uk. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 47181. p. 4039. 24 March 1977.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 48810. p. 15283. 1 December 1981.
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by George Thomson
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