Bruce Millan (5 October 1927 – 21 February 2013) was a British Labour politician who served as a European Commissioner from 1989 to 1995.

Early life

Bruce Millan was born in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, the son of a shipyard caulker and a jute weaver, and educated at

Harris Academy Harris Academy is a co-educational comprehensive school in the affluent residential area of West End, Dundee, West End of Dundee, Scotland. Harris Academy was founded in 1885 and is the oldest state school in Dundee. Previously academically-se ...

in the city. He was active in the Labour League of Youth while at school, and after it he undertook his

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

with the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

while studying at the same time for

accountancy Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activities and conveys ...

examinations. He became a chartered accountant in 1950. Millan married Gwendoline May Fairey on 22 August 1953. The couple had a son and a daughter.

Parliamentary career

Millan unsuccessfully contested West Renfrewshire in the 1951 general election and Glasgow Craigton in that of 1955. He was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Craigton at the 1959 general election and served for that seat, and after its abolition in 1983 for Glasgow Govan, until 1988. He served in the Wilson government of 1964–1970 as Under-Secretary of State for the Air Force from 1964 to 1966, as

Under-Secretary of State for Scotland The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland is a junior ministerial post (of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State rank) in the Government of the United Kingdom, supporting the Secretary of State for Scotland. The post is also kn ...

from 1966 to 1970, and in the Callaghan government of 1976–1979 as

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...

; he subsequently served as

Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland The shadow secretary of state for Scotland is a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom), UK Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Scotland, secretary of state for Scotland and his/he ...

under new leader

Michael Foot Michael Mackintosh Foot (23 July 19133 March 2010) was a British politician who was Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition from 1980 to 1983. Foot beg ...

. At the time of the 1981 Labour Party Shadow Cabinet election, the first time Millan won election to the Shadow Cabinet, he was described by ''

The Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

'' as being identified with the "Centre-to-right" of the Labour Party.

After Parliament

Millan left Parliament in 1988, by applying for the

Chiltern Hundreds The Chiltern Hundreds is an ancient administrative area in Buckinghamshire, England, composed of three hundred (county division), ancient hundreds and lying partially within the Chiltern Hills. "Taking the Chiltern Hundreds" refers to one of the ...

, in order to take up the post of

European Commissioner for Regional Policy The Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms is a portfolio within the European Commission. The current Commissioner is Raffaele Fitto. The portfolio is responsible for managing the European Union Regional policy, regional policy of the European U ...

and Cohesion, which he held until 1995. The vacancy he left was filled by Jim Sillars of the SNP in the noteworthy Glasgow Govan by-election of 1988. In 1991, Millan received an honorary doctorate from

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...

. Between 1999 and 2001 he chaired the Millan Committee, which proposed reforms to the provision of mental health care in Scotland.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Millan, Bruce 1927 births 2013 deaths Alumni of the University of Dundee Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical and Computer Staff-sponsored MPs British European commissioners Deaths from pneumonia in Scotland Deaths from bronchopneumonia Honorary Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Glasgow constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Wilson governments, 1964–1970 People educated at Harris Academy Politicians from Dundee Scottish Labour MPs Secretaries of State for Scotland UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992