George Thomson, Baron Thomson of Monifieth
Encyclopedia
George Morgan Thomson, Baron Thomson of Monifieth, KT
, PC
, DL
, FRSE, (16 January 1921 – 3 October 2008) was a journalist and British politician
belonging to the Labour Party
. 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
. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1966, was raised to the Peerage in 1977 as Baron Thomson of Monifieth, of Monifieth in the District of the City of Dundee
, and became a Knight of the Thistle
in 1981.
, Broughty Ferry
, Dundee
, Scotland, and served in the Royal Air Force
from 1941 to 1946. He was Editor of Forward, a Dundee
newspaper from 1946 to 1956.
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 to 1967 and again from 1969 to 1970, Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs
from 1967 to 1968, and Minister without Portfolio
from 1968 to 1969. 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. A strong European, he was one of the first British Commissioners of the European Community
(EC) from 1973 to 1977, with responsibility for regional policy. As chairman of the Independent Broadcasting Authority
from 1981 to 1988 he handled a controversial re-allocation of ITV network licences.
He was Chair of the Advertising Standards Authority
from 1977 until 1980; Chair of the Independent Broadcasting Authority
(IBA) 1981–1988; a European Commissioner
, with responsibility for Regional Policy
1973–1976; First Crown Estate
Commissioner from 1977 until 1980; 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 until 1991. He had been a Lords' Member of the Parliamentary Broadcasting Unit since 1993. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
and of the Royal Television Society
, and a patron of Sustrans
.
After moving with Grace to Charing, Kent, Baron Thomson held the position of Party President, for Ashford Liberal Democrats, from 1999–2006
, after suffering a viral infection.
Order of the Thistle
The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order...
, PC
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
, DL
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
, FRSE, (16 January 1921 – 3 October 2008) was a journalist and British politician
Politics of the United Kingdom
The politics of the United Kingdom takes place within the framework of a constitutional monarchy, in which the Monarch is the head of state and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government...
belonging to the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. In the 1980s, he joined the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (UK)
The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
. Following the SDP's merger with the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
, he became a Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
and sat as a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1966, was raised to the Peerage in 1977 as Baron Thomson of Monifieth, of Monifieth in the District of the City of Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
, and became a Knight of the Thistle
Order of the Thistle
The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order...
in 1981.
Early life
Thomson was educated at Grove AcademyGrove Academy
Grove Academy is a secondary school in Broughty Ferry, Dundee. One of the most academically achieving schools in Scotland, Grove Academy enrolls approximately 1500 pupils, the majority of which are from Forthill, Eastern, and Barnhill primary schools...
, Broughty Ferry
Broughty Ferry
Broughty Ferry is a suburb on the eastern side of the City of Dundee, on the shore of the Firth of Tay in eastern Scotland...
, Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
, Scotland, and served in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
from 1941 to 1946. He was Editor of Forward, a Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
newspaper from 1946 to 1956.
Political career
At the 1950United Kingdom general election, 1950
The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
and 1951 general elections
United Kingdom general election, 1951
The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held eighteen months after the 1950 general election, which the Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats...
, Thomson stood unsuccessfully in Glasgow Hillhead
Glasgow Hillhead (UK Parliament constituency)
Glasgow Hillhead was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until 1997...
. In 1952 he was elected Member of Parliament in a by-election for Dundee East
Dundee East (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-Elections in the 1980s:-Elections in the 1970s:-Elections in the 1950s:...
, where he served until his resignation in 1972. He served in the 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...
government as Minister of State
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...
, Foreign Office from October 1964 to April 1966, then as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom that includes as part of its duties, the administration of the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster...
from 1966 to 1967 and again from 1969 to 1970, Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs
Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs
The position of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs was created on 1 August 1966 by the merger of the old positions of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations and Secretary of State for the Colonies. The position dealt with British relations with members of the Commonwealth of Nations...
from 1967 to 1968, and Minister without Portfolio
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...
from 1968 to 1969. During his time as Commonwealth Secretary he had responsibility for trying to reach a settlement of the Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...
(now Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
) question and for implementing sanctions against the regime there. A strong European, he was one of the first British Commissioners of the European Community
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
(EC) from 1973 to 1977, with responsibility for regional policy. As chairman of the Independent Broadcasting Authority
Independent Broadcasting Authority
The Independent Broadcasting Authority was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television - and commercial/independent radio broadcasts...
from 1981 to 1988 he handled a controversial re-allocation of ITV network licences.
He was Chair of the Advertising Standards Authority
Advertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom)
The Advertising Standards Authority is the self-regulatory organisation of the advertising industry in the United Kingdom. The ASA is a non-statutory organisation and so cannot interpret or enforce legislation. However, its code of advertising practice broadly reflects legislation in many instances...
from 1977 until 1980; Chair of the Independent Broadcasting Authority
Independent Broadcasting Authority
The Independent Broadcasting Authority was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television - and commercial/independent radio broadcasts...
(IBA) 1981–1988; a European Commissioner
European Commissioner
A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each Member within the college holds a specific portfolio and are led by the President of the European Commission...
, with responsibility for Regional Policy
Regional policy
-Regional policy in the European Union:Although the European Union is one of the richest parts of the world, there are large internal disparities of income and opportunity between its regions. The May 2004 Enlargement, followed by accession of Bulgaria and Romania in January 2007 has widened these...
1973–1976; First Crown Estate
Crown Estate
In the United Kingdom, the Crown Estate is a property portfolio owned by the Crown. Although still belonging to the monarch and inherent with the accession of the throne, it is no longer the private property of the reigning monarch and cannot be sold by him/her, nor do the revenues from it belong...
Commissioner from 1977 until 1980; and a Member of the Committee on Standards in Public Life
Committee on Standards in Public Life
The Committee on Standards in Public Life is an advisory non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom Government.The Committee on Standards in Public Life is constituted as a standing body with its members appointed for up to three years.-History:...
from 1994 until 1997. He was Deputy Chair of the Woolwich Building Society from 1988 until 1991. He had been a Lords' Member of the Parliamentary Broadcasting Unit since 1993. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
and of the Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
, and a patron of Sustrans
Sustrans
Sustrans is a British charity to promote sustainable transport. The charity is currently working on a number of practical projects to encourage people to walk, cycle and use public transport, to give people the choice of "travelling in ways that benefit their health and the environment"...
.
After moving with Grace to Charing, Kent, Baron 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' HospitalSt Thomas' Hospital
St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS hospital in London, England. It is administratively a part of Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. It has provided health care freely or under charitable auspices since the 12th century and was originally located in Southwark.St Thomas' Hospital is accessible...
, after suffering a viral infection.