Jonathan Fryer
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Jonathan Harold Fryer (born Graham Leslie Morton; 5 June 1950 – 16 April 2021) was a British writer, broadcaster, lecturer and
Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...
politician. His biographies of
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...
and
Christopher Isherwood Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood (26 August 1904 – 4 January 1986) was an Anglo-American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, autobiographer, and diarist. His best-known works include '' Goodbye to Berlin'' (1939), a semi-autobiographical ...
were the best-known of his fifteen books. He was the candidate for the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
, or its successor, the Liberal Democrats, for various seats in
Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
in five UK General Elections. He was also a candidate for the parties for a seat in the London area in every election for the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
held in the UK, except for that held in
1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
. As Chairman of the
London Liberal Democrats The London Liberal Democrats are the regional party of the Liberal Democrats that operates in Greater London. The organisation is a part of the English Liberal Democrats. Mayoral candidates In 2008, Brian Paddick became the first openly LGBT ...
, he supervised the headquarters' move to
Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...
and streamlined its operations.


Early life

Fryer was born in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
on 5 June 1950, under the name Graham Leslie Morton. Following the divorce of his natural mother, he was adopted as an infant by a local businessman and his wife, who later spent much of their time in South Africa. He has two natural sisters and one adopted one.


Education

After private primary education at Branwood School, Eccles, Fryer obtained a place at the independent
Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) is a highly Selective school, selective Private_schools_in_the_United_Kingdom, private day school for boys aged 7-18 in Manchester, England, which was founded in 1515 by Hugh Oldham (then Bishop of Exeter). ...
. He spent the summer of 1967 in Tours, at the Institut de Touraine, perfecting his French. He left school before the end of his final year (having acquired 'A' levels in English Literature, French and Geography) and travelled overland to
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, where he reported on the
war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
for the ''
Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 20 ...
'' and the ''
Geographical Magazine ''Geographical'' (formerly ''The Geographical Magazine'') is the magazine of the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), a key associate and supporter of many famous expeditions, including those of Charles Darwin, ...
''. His overland journey back to England in September 1969 gave him his first introduction to the Middle East, which remained an abiding interest. Fryer had won an Open Exhibition award to
St Edmund Hall, Oxford St Edmund Hall (also known as The Hall and Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university" and was the las ...
, where he started to read Geography, before switching to Oriental Studies (Chinese with Japanese). He returned to the Far East for a year in 1971–1972, studying part-time at the
University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...
and in Tokyo. As a mature student, he has been working on an MSc in Development and Environmental Education.


Career

Fryer joined
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
news agency as a graduate trainee after university, serving for just over a year in London and
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
. On receiving his first book contract (for ''The Great Wall of China'') he went
freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...
, but kept Brussels as his base for seven years, travelling widely in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He returned to England in 1981, settling in London, largely to develop his political interests. As a freelance writer on international affairs, he worked mainly for the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
( Radio 4 and
World Service The BBC World Service is a British public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcasts radio news, speec ...
), but also contributed to ''The Guardian'', ''The Independent'', ''The Economist'', ''The Spectator'', ''The Oldie'', ''The Tablet'', ''Society Today'' and ''The Liberal'', among others. For a decade, he regularly appeared on the ''
Today Programme ''Today'', colloquially known as ''the Today programme'', is BBC Radio 4's long-running morning news and current-affairs radio programme. Broadcast on Monday to Saturday from 06:00 to 09:00 (starting on Saturday at 07:00), it is produced by BB ...
s '
Thought for the Day ''Thought for the Day'' is a daily scripted slot on the ''Today'' programme on BBC Radio 4 offering "reflections from a faith perspective on issues and people in the news", broadcast at around 7:45 each Monday to Saturday morning. Lasting 2 minu ...
', as a Quaker (having joined the
Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
after his experiences in Vietnam), but in later years became better known for his despatches in ''
From Our Own Correspondent ''From Our Own Correspondent'' is a weekly BBC radio programme in which BBC foreign correspondents deliver a sequence of short talks reflecting on current events and topical themes in the countries outside the UK in which they are based. The prog ...
''. He travelled to 160 countries, reporting, researching or making radio documentaries. From 1993, Fryer taught Humanities part-time at London University's
School of Oriental and African Studies The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...
(SOAS), and later began teaching at City University (Writing Non-Fiction). He lectured frequently on cruise ships, notably around the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, as well as to groups and associations in the UK. Through the British Council and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, he gave seminars on democracy-building and the media in locations such as Egypt, Ethiopia and Uruguay. He was a Consultant with Public Affairs International (London).


Politics

Fryer joined the Young Liberals after
Jo Grimond Joseph Grimond, Baron Grimond, (; 29 July 1913 – 24 October 1993) was a British politician, leader of the Liberal Party for eleven years from 1956 to 1967 and again briefly on an interim basis in 1976. Grimond was a long-term supporter of ...
came to his school during the 1964 general election. He was successively Vice-Chairman of the North West Young Liberal Federation and Secretary of the
Oxford University Liberal Club The Oxford University Liberal Club (OULC) was a student political club at the University of Oxford from 1913 to 1987. Initially formed from clubs called the Russell Club and the Palmerston Club, in its early years it also occupied premises in Oxfor ...
. He served as a London borough councillor (in
Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...
) from 1986 to 1990, and fought five general elections: Chelsea
1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
,
Orpington Orpington is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south east of Charing Cross. On the south-eastern edge of the Greater London Built-up Area, it is south of St Mary Cray, sou ...
1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...
,
Leyton Leyton ( ) is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the Ri ...
1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...
, his home constituency of
Poplar and Limehouse Poplar and Limehouse is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency which was first created in 2010. It has been represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Ki ...
in
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 ...
, and
Dagenham and Rainham Dagenham and Rainham is a parliamentary constituency in Greater London that was created in 2010. It has been represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom since 2024 by Margaret Mullane and was previously represented from 2010 by J ...
in
2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
. His main political focus was, however, the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
, for which he stood in London South East in the
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
,
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
and
1994 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1994. Africa * 1994 Botswana general election * 1994 Guinea-Bissau general election * 1994 Malawian general election * 1994 Mozambican general election * 1994 Namibian general election * 1994 South Afr ...
. He stood on the LibDem list for the
London region Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
in each election from 1999 to 2019, coming within 0.6 per cent of winning a seat in the 2004 elections. He was the second candidate on the party's list for the
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
,
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
and
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
elections. In the
2019 European Parliament election The 2019 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 23 and 26 May 2019. It was the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) we ...
, when three Liberal Democrat MEPs were elected, he was the fourth candidate on the party's list. He held a variety of positions within the Liberal Democrats and predecessor parties, including chairing policy panels on international development (was Chairman of the
Liberal International Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberalism, liberal political parties. The political international was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal and progressive democratic parties aim ...
British Group), a member of the LibDems' international relations committee, an elected member of the governing Council of the European Liberal Democrats (ELDR) and was on the party's Interim Peers' List. As Chairman of the Liberal International British Group, he was automatically a Vice-President of
Liberal International Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberalism, liberal political parties. The political international was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal and progressive democratic parties aim ...
worldwide. Outside party politics, active within the Religious Society of Friends (The Quakers), he was one of the small group that in 1979 set up the
Quaker Council for European Affairs The Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA) is an international not-for-profit organisation which seeks to promote the values and political concerns of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) at the European level. It undertakes research a ...
. This established Quaker House in Brussels situated in Square Ambiorix. He was the first Secretary of the group.


Illness and death

On the afternoon of 24 March 2021, Fryer posted on his Facebook page: "Brain tumour. Incurable. Dying soon here or at St. Joseph’s Hospice, Hackney, Goodbye everyone, and thank you. Jonathan." He died three weeks later, on 16 April 2021.


Books

*''The Great Wall of China'' (1975) *''Isherwood'' (1977) *''Brussels As Seen by Naif Artists'' (1979, with Rona Dobson) *''Food for Thought'' (1981) *''George Fox and the Children of the Light'' (1991) *''Eye of the Camera'' (1993) *''Dylan'' (1993) *''The Sitwells'' (1994, with Sarah Bradford and John Pearson) *''André & Oscar'' (1997) *''Soho in the Fifties and Sixties'' (1998) *''Robbie Ross'' (2000) Published By: The Hudson Review, Inc *''Wilde'' (2005) *''Fuelling Kuwait's Development'' (2007) *"Kurdistan 2010" *''Eccles Cakes: An Odd Tale of Survival'' (2016)


References


External links


"Jonathan Fryer chosen for Poplar and Limehouse" – Tower Hamlets


* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110722054910/http://www.publicservice.co.uk/feature_story.asp?id=11719 "Turkey must sort out its Kurd issues" – Public Service
"Francophonia comes into vogue" – BBC


* [http://tower-hamlets-libdems.org.uk/news/000181/european_spokesperson_jonathan_fryer_outlines_the_liberal_democrat_approach_to_the_environment.html "European spokesperson Jonathan Fryer outlines the Liberal Democrat approach to the environment" – Tower Hamlets]
"Jonathan Fryer's Speak up Europe speech" – LDEG


* ttp://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/news/5368503.Youngsters_grill_Enfield_politicians_on_local_issues/ "Youngsters grill Enfield politicians on local issues" – Enfield Independent {{DEFAULTSORT:Fryer, Jonathan 1950 births 2021 deaths People educated at Manchester Grammar School Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford English non-fiction writers Writers from Manchester Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Councillors in the London Borough of Bromley British Quakers British reporters and correspondents British radio personalities Politicians from Manchester English male non-fiction writers Liberal Democrats (UK) parliamentary candidates