Jonathan Edward Baume (born 13 July 1953 in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

) was General Secretary of the

FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

from 1997 until 2012 and a member of the General Council of the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

(TUC) from 2001 to 2012. He was appointed as a Civil Service Commissioner in April 2012 and is a Council member of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (

Acas The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) is a non-departmental public body of the Her Majesty's Government, Government of the United Kingdom. Its purpose is to improve organisations and working life through the promotion and fa ...

Education

He was educated at

Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (QEGS) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (day school, no boarding) for boys in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The school was founded by Royal Charter of Elizabeth I of England, Queen Elizabet ...

, and

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, University Museum a ...

(BA Hons 1974; MA). While at university, he was active in student politics as a member of the International Socialists and then the Trotskyist

International Marxist Group The International Marxist Group (IMG) was a Trotskyist group in Britain between 1968 and 1982. It was the British Section of the Fourth International. It had around 1,000 members and supporters in the late 1970s. In 1980, it had 682 members; by ...

, the British section of the

Fourth International The Fourth International (FI) was a political international established in France in 1938 by Leon Trotsky and his supporters, having been expelled from the Soviet Union and the Communist International (also known as Comintern or the Third Inte ...

Career

Oxfordshire County Council Oxfordshire County Council is the county council (upper-tier local authority) for the non-metropolitan county of Oxfordshire in the South East of England. Established in 1889, it is an elected body responsible for most strategic local government ...

, 1974–77 *

Department of Employment The secretary of state for employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In , it was merged with secretary of state for education to make the secretary of state for education and employment. In , the employment functions were h ...

Group, 1977–87 *

(Organisation and Industrial Relations Department), 1987–89 *

: Assistant General Secretary, 1989–94; Deputy General Secretary, 1994–97 Following the announcement of Elizabeth Symons' resignation as General Secretary, the FDA National Executive interviewed several candidates to replace her and agreed to nominate Baume as her successor. However, former FDA member Tony Engel (who had not been interviewed) was also nominated as a candidate. In the subsequent ballot of the whole FDA membership, Baume was elected with 68% of the votes cast. Jonathan Baume retired as FDA General Secretary in late 2012, and was succeeded by the then Deputy General Secretary, Dave Penman.

Government advisor

He has served on three Government advisory groups: * Ministerial Advisory Group on Openness in the Public Sector 1998–99 * Ministerial Advisory Group on Implementation of the

Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request: * Freedom of Information Act (United States) of 1966 * F ...

2001–present * Age Advisory Group,

Department of Trade and Industry Department of Trade and Industry may refer to: Current * Department of Trade and Industry (Isle of Man) * Department of Trade and Industry (Philippines) * Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (South Africa) Former * Department of Trade ...

2004–present

Outside interests

He is a member of the

Campaign for the Protection of Rural England CPRE, The Countryside Charity, formerly known by names such as the ''Council for the Preservation of Rural England'' and the ''Campaign to Protect Rural England'', is a charity in England with over 40,000 members and supporters. Formed in 1926 ...

and the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

, and a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

. After suffering from back problems, he took up yoga. His other hobbies are jazz, world music and rambling. He is a member of the Athenaeum Club.

References

Debrett's People of Today Debrett's () is a British professional coaching company and publisher and authority on etiquette and behaviour, founded in 1769 with the publication of the first edition of ''The New Peerage''. The company takes its name from its founder, John ...

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

* FDA News, various issues 1990-8 Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Trade unionists from Yorkshire General secretaries of the FDA (trade union) People from Wakefield 1953 births Living people People educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress {{UK-trade-unionist-bio-stub