Leif Mills is a former British

British people

The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

 trade union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

ist.

Mills was educated at Kingston Grammar School

Kingston Grammar School

Kingston Grammar School is an independent co-educational school in Kingston upon Thames, Greater London. The school was founded by Royal Charter in 1561 but can trace its roots back to at least the 13th century. It is a registered charity under English law....

 and went on to study at Balliol College, Oxford

Balliol College, Oxford

Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....

 before undertaking national service

National service

National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...

 in the Royal Military Police

Royal Military Police

The Royal Military Police is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK, and whilst service personnel are deployed overseas on operations and exercises.Members of the RMP are generally known as...

. He then joined the National Union of Bank Employees (later renamed the Banking Insurance and Finance Union - BIFU), becoming Assistant General Secretary in 1962, then Deputy General Secretary in 1968, and finally General Secretary in 1972, serving until 1996.

Mills stood unsuccessfully for 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 Salisbury

Salisbury (UK Parliament constituency)

Salisbury is a county constituency centred on the city of Salisbury in Wiltshire. It elects one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, by the first past the post voting system....

 at the 1964 UK general election, and again in a 1965 by-election

Salisbury by-election, 1965

The Salisbury by-election, 1965 was a by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Salisbury in Wiltshire on 4 February 1965. It was won by the Conservative Party candidate Michael Hamilton.- Vacancy :...

. Although his first speech to the Trades Union Congress

Trades Union Congress

The Trades Union Congress is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in the United Kingdom, representing the majority of trade unions...

 was followed by BIFU's expulsion, for registering under the Industrial Relations Act, he subsequently held a number of TUC posts, including that of President

President of the Trades Union Congress

The President of the Trades Union Congress is a prominent but largely honorary position in British trade unionism.The President is elected at the annual conference of the Trades Union Congress . They officially fill the office for the remainder of the year and then preside over the following...

 in 1994/5. He also served on the Monopolies and Mergers Commission, and more recently with the Covent Garden Market Authority.

In 1999, Mills published a biography of Frank Wild

Frank Wild

Commander John Robert Francis Wild CBE, RNVR, FRGS , known as Frank Wild, was an explorer...

, while his Men of Ice appeared in 2008.