Niall MacDermot 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...

 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...

 politician.

He was first elected to the House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 as Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) for Lewisham North

Lewisham North (UK Parliament constituency)

Lewisham North was a parliamentary constituency in Lewisham, London which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 until it was abolished for the February 1974 general election.- Boundaries :...

, at a by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

 in 1957 following the death of Conservative

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 MP Sir Austin Hudson.

MacDermot lost his seat two years later at the 1959 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1959

This United Kingdom general election was held on 8 October 1959. It marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, led by Harold Macmillan...

, but two years later he returned to Parliament

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

 as MP for Derby North at by-election in 1962.

He was Financial Secretary to the Treasury

Financial Secretary to the Treasury

Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a junior Ministerial post in the British Treasury. It is the 4th most significant Ministerial role within the Treasury after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and the Paymaster General...

 from 1964 to 1967, and retired from the Commons at the 1970 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1970

The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...

.

From 1970 to 1990, he was Secretary-General of the International Commission of Jurists

International Commission of Jurists

The International Commission of Jurists is an international human rights non-governmental organization. The Commission itself is a standing group of 60 eminent jurists , including members of the senior judiciary in Australia, Canada, and South Africa and the former UN High Commissioner for Human...

, succeeding Sean MacBride

Seán MacBride

Seán MacBride was an Irish government minister and prominent international politician as well as a Chief of Staff of the IRA....

.

He was the grandson of Hugh Hyacinth O'Rorke MacDermot

Hugh Hyacinth O'Rorke MacDermot

Hugh Hyacinth O'Rorke MacDermot, Prince of Coolavin PC, JP, DL, QC , was an Irish lawyer.-Background:MacDermot was the eldest son of Charles Joseph MacDermot by his wife Arabella Mary, only child of Hyacinth O'Rorke, representative of the House of O'Rorke of Breffny...

, who served as Solicitor General for Ireland in 1885 and 1886, and as Attorney General for Ireland in 1892.

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