Arnold Goodman, Baron Goodman
Encyclopedia
Arnold Abraham Goodman, Baron Goodman, CH
, QC
, (21 August 1915 – 12 May 1995) was a British
lawyer and political advisor.
and Downing College, Cambridge
. He became a leading London
lawyer
as Senior Partner in the law firm Goodman, Derrick & Co (now Goodman Derrick LLP). He was solicitor
and advisor to politician
s such as Harold Wilson
.
Goodman was chairman of the Arts Council of Great Britain
from 1965 until 1972, succeeded by Lord Gibson. As chair of the Arts Council, Goodman managed the organisation's 'golden age' with the establishing of the South Bank Centre
and adoption of the only UK government bill for the Arts
while the Council began regular funding for a number of galleries and theatre companies in the English regions. He was also Chairman of British Lion Films
, the Committee of Inquiry into Charity Law, the Committee on London Orchestras, the Housing Corporation
, the National Building Agency, the Newspaper Proprietors' Association, and The Observer
Trust, as well as being Director of the Royal Opera House
and Sadler's Wells, Governor
of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre
, a member of the Planning Committee for the Open University and President
of the Theatrical Advisory Committee. He was a Senior Fellow of the Royal College of Art
and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Art
. He was also a founder and patron of the Next Century Foundation
.
Publisher Rupert Hart-Davis
was a client when Goodman was a partner in Rubenstein Nash; Goodman reached an agreement with Churchill and Beaverbrook over G. M. Young’s life of Stanley Baldwin
in 1952, though it required the hideously expensive job of removing and replacing seven leaves with revised wording in 7,580 copies of the book. In 1963 Goodman (now in his own firm, Goodman Derrick) arranged for Granada Television to take over Hart-Davis's loss-making publishing firm and Hart-Davis wasn’t surprised when he became a leading trouble-shooter for the government. After hearing details of the firm’s finances for ten or fifteen minutes Goodman dictated everything back to his secretary: the most amazing feat of mental agility I’ve ever seen or heard of .
Later in his career, Lord Goodman was Master of University College, Oxford
, succeeding Lord Redcliffe-Maud in 1976. He retired from the post in 1986 and died from pneumonia
on 12 May 1995. Harold Wilson
(by then Lord Wilson of Rievaulx), Honorary Fellow of University College
since 1963, died only twelve days later on 24 May.
He was created a life peer
as Baron Goodman, of the City of Westminster
in 1965 and Companion of Honour in 1972.
Order of the Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion....
, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
, (21 August 1915 – 12 May 1995) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
lawyer and political advisor.
Life
Lord Goodman was educated at University College LondonUniversity College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
and Downing College, Cambridge
Downing College, Cambridge
Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1800 and currently has around 650 students.- History :...
. He became a leading London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
as Senior Partner in the law firm Goodman, Derrick & Co (now Goodman Derrick LLP). He was solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
and advisor to politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
s such as Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
.
Goodman was chairman of the Arts Council of Great Britain
Arts Council of Great Britain
The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. The Arts Council of Great Britain was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England , the Scottish Arts Council, and the Arts Council of Wales...
from 1965 until 1972, succeeded by Lord Gibson. As chair of the Arts Council, Goodman managed the organisation's 'golden age' with the establishing of the South Bank Centre
South Bank Centre
Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, UK, on the South Bank of the River Thames between County Hall and Waterloo Bridge. It comprises three main buildings , and is Europe’s largest centre for the arts. It attracts more than three million visitors annually...
and adoption of the only UK government bill for the Arts
The arts
The arts are a vast subdivision of culture, composed of many creative endeavors and disciplines. It is a broader term than "art", which as a description of a field usually means only the visual arts. The arts encompass visual arts, literary arts and the performing arts – music, theatre, dance and...
while the Council began regular funding for a number of galleries and theatre companies in the English regions. He was also Chairman of British Lion Films
British Lion Films
British Lion Films Corporation is a film production and distribution company active under several forms since 1919. Until 1976 they were also film distributors as British Lion Films Ltd, with a distributor filmography of 232 films. As a production company they are still active and have produced...
, the Committee of Inquiry into Charity Law, the Committee on London Orchestras, the Housing Corporation
Housing Corporation
The Housing Corporation was the non-departmental public body that funded new affordable housing and regulated housing associations in England. It was established by the Housing Act 1964...
, the National Building Agency, the Newspaper Proprietors' Association, and The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
Trust, as well as being Director of the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
and Sadler's Wells, Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Royal Shakespeare Theatre
The Royal Shakespeare Theatre is a 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the British playwright and poet William Shakespeare. It is located in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon - Shakespeare's birthplace - in the English Midlands, beside the River Avon...
, a member of the Planning Committee for the Open University and President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of the Theatrical Advisory Committee. He was a Senior Fellow of the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
. He was also a founder and patron of the Next Century Foundation
Next Century Foundation
The Next Century Foundation is an elite organisation that operates in various conflict zones across the globe. Originally established in 1990 to provide a forum for off-the-record discussions between Palestinians and Israelis, in addition to maintaining its original focus on the Middle East Peace...
.
Publisher Rupert Hart-Davis
Rupert Hart-Davis
Sir Rupert Charles Hart-Davis was an English publisher, editor and man of letters. He founded the publishing company Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd...
was a client when Goodman was a partner in Rubenstein Nash; Goodman reached an agreement with Churchill and Beaverbrook over G. M. Young’s life of Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...
in 1952, though it required the hideously expensive job of removing and replacing seven leaves with revised wording in 7,580 copies of the book. In 1963 Goodman (now in his own firm, Goodman Derrick) arranged for Granada Television to take over Hart-Davis's loss-making publishing firm and Hart-Davis wasn’t surprised when he became a leading trouble-shooter for the government. After hearing details of the firm’s finances for ten or fifteen minutes Goodman dictated everything back to his secretary: the most amazing feat of mental agility I’ve ever seen or heard of .
Later in his career, Lord Goodman was Master of University College, Oxford
University College, Oxford
.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...
, succeeding Lord Redcliffe-Maud in 1976. He retired from the post in 1986 and died from pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
on 12 May 1995. Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
(by then Lord Wilson of Rievaulx), Honorary Fellow of University College
University College, Oxford
.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...
since 1963, died only twelve days later on 24 May.
He was created a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
as Baron Goodman, of the City of Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
in 1965 and Companion of Honour in 1972.
Criticisms
- After his death one of his wealthy clients, Lord Portman, alleged that Goodman stole funds worth £10 million from his family's trust over a 30-year period and made donations to the Labour Party. However, Lord Portman did not verify his claim.
- Goodman was often portrayed by Private EyePrivate EyePrivate Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
as a sinister "power behind the throne" exerting huge influence on the British establishment. Private Eye was often referred to him as Lord "Two Dinners" Goodman — possibly because he was not notably sylph-like of figure. - According to a documentary made by Richard Bond for Channel 4, The Gangster and the Pervert Peer, Goodman was one of the chief parties responsible for suppressing investigations by journalists which exposed how Lord Boothby and others were responsible for protecting the KraysKray twinsReginald "Reggie" Kray and his twin brother Ronald "Ronnie" Kray were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in London's East End during the 1950s and 1960s...
from justice. - He was a Fellow of the EugenicsEugenicsEugenics is the "applied science or the bio-social movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population", usually referring to human populations. The origins of the concept of eugenics began with certain interpretations of Mendelian inheritance,...
Society http://www.eugenics-watch.com/briteugen/eug_g.html
Sources
- The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (includes photo)
- Goodman's biography at Eugenics Watch
- Goodman's obituary in the Independent
- Goodman's obituary in the Galton Institute
- Criticism of Goodman
- Goodman's NY Times obituary
- Goodman allegations
- Goodman commentary
External links
- Lord Goodman — Chevening Scholarships from the British CouncilBritish CouncilThe British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
- Lord Goodman — Daily Telegraph obituary
- Portrait by Lucian FreudLucian FreudLucian Michael Freud, OM, CH was a British painter. Known chiefly for his thickly impasted portrait and figure paintings, he was widely considered the pre-eminent British artist of his time...
- Biography of Goodman by Brian BrivatiBrian BrivatiBrian Brivati is a professor of contemporary history at Kingston University and a writer.Brivati has had articles published in The Guardian, The Times, The Financial Times, The Independent on Sunday, The Observer, The New Statesman, Progress, The Fabian Review and Parliamentary Brief...
- Conversations with Lord Goodman