Bruce Thomas George (1 June 1942 – 24 February 2020) was a British Labour Party politician, who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Walsall South from February 1974 until

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Early life

George was born in

Mountain Ash Mountain ash may refer to: * ''Eucalyptus regnans'', the tallest of all flowering plants, native to Australia * Mountain-ashes or rowans, varieties of trees and shrubs in the genus ''Sorbus'' See also

* Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf, a town ...

, Mid-Glamorgan, to Phyllis George and her husband Edgar George, a policeman. He was educated at the

* Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf, a town ...

Grammar School A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

and the University of Wales, Swansea, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in

political theory Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and legitimacy of political institutions, such as states. This field investigates different forms of government, ranging from d ...

and government. He finished his education at the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

where he earned a master's degree in

comparative politics Comparative politics is a field in political science characterized either by the use of the '' comparative method'' or other empirical methods to explore politics both within and between countries. Substantively, this can include questions relat ...

. He was an assistant lecturer in social studies at the Glamorgan Polytechnic from 1964 to 1966. He lectured in politics at the Manchester Polytechnic from 1968 until he became a senior politics lecturer at the Birmingham Polytechnic in 1970. He left this post when he was elected to Parliament in 1974. He was also a tutor with the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

from 1970 until 1973.

Parliamentary career

George contested

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

at the 1970 general election but was defeated by the sitting

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

MP, Ian Percival, coming third in the poll. He was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

for Walsall South at the February 1974 general election. George served as a member of the House of Commons

Defence Select Committee The Defence Select Committee is one of the Select Committees of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, having been established in 1979. It examines the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Ministry of Defence and its associated pu ...

from 1979 until 2005, serving as chairman of the committee from 1998 to 2005. He became a member of the Privy Council in 2000. Although he was an MP for 36 years, George was never on the frontbench. He is seen as a supporter of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

and a strong military. He was Leader of the UK Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and was elected vice-president of the Assembly in November 2007. In 2002, he was elected president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...

, and was re-elected in 2003. Between 2004 and June 2006, he served as President Emeritus and Special Advisor on Mediterranean Affairs. He also regularly acted as an election monitor, especially in disputed Presidential elections in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. On 18 February 2010, George announced that he would stand down at the 2010 general election. He was succeeded in his constituency by

Valerie Vaz Valerie Carol Marian Vaz (born 7 December 1954) is a British Labour politician and former solicitor who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Walsall and Bloxwich, previously Walsall South, since 2010. She served as Shadow Leader of t ...

After the House of Commons

In May 2011, George was awarded the Medal of Honour by the president of Georgia for his considerable contribution to the democratisation of that country. In October 2011, he was made an Honorary Freeman of the Borough by Walsall Council in recognition of his 36 years' service as Member of Parliament for Walsall South. In 2012, he was awarded the OSCE Medal in recognition of his contribution to the work of the OSCE before, during and after his presidency of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

Personal life and death

George married Lisa Toelle in 1992. George was an honorary political advisor to The Royal British Legion and vice-president of the UK's largest professional security organisation, The Security Institute. In 1981, he was a visiting lecturer at the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

and later a visiting professor at the University of Portsmouth, Institute of Criminal Justice Studies. George was a supporter of Walsall F.C. On 24 February 2020, George died due to complications of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

in London, at the age of 77.

Publications

* ''The State of the Alliance'' Co-Authored by Bruce George, 1987, Avalon Publishing, * ''Jane's NATO Handbook'' Edited by Bruce George, 1990, Jane's Information Group * ''Jane's NATO Handbook'' Edited by Bruce George, 1991, Jane's Information Group * ''The British Labour Party and Defence'' by Bruce George, 1992, Greenwood Press * ''Worth Saving: The Story of the Staffordshire Regiment's Fight for Survival'' by Bruce George and Nick Ryan, 1996, Dalesman Publishing Company Ltd

References

External links

Official Website
* ttps://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/bruce_george/walsall_south TheyWorkForYou.com – Bruce George MP* {{DEFAULTSORT:George, Bruce 1942 births 2020 deaths Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 Alumni of Swansea University Alumni of the University of Warwick Academics of the Open University Academics of the University of Essex Academics of the University of Glamorgan Academics of Birmingham City University Academics of Manchester Metropolitan University People educated at Mountain Ash Comprehensive School Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in England Deaths from dementia in England Academics of the University of Portsmouth