Sir Julian Gordon Priestley (26 May 1950 – 22 April 2017) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

civil-servant who served as Secretary-General of the European Parliament 1997–2007. He was the second President of the

Young European Federalists Young European Federalists (french: Jeunes Européens Fédéralistes, JEF) is a political youth organisation. Active in most European countries, it seeks to promote European integration through the strengthening and democratisation of the Europ ...

1974–1976.

Biography

Born in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extens ...

, Priestley was educated at

St Boniface's Catholic College St Boniface's Catholic College is a secondary school for boys, under the direction and trustees of the Roman Catholic Community in the Plymouth area in the South West of England. Founded in 1856 as an independent boarding and day school for "you ...

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

, and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...

, graduating in 1972 with an honours degree in philosophy, politics and economics ( PPE). He was president of the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...

and chairman of the

Oxford University Labour Club Oxford University Labour Club (OULC) was founded in 1919 to promote democratic socialism and is today the home of the Labour Party and of social democracy at Oxford University. OULC is the largest and oldest university Labour club in the coun ...

. He stood three times for Labour in Plymouth (twice in

Plymouth Sutton Plymouth, Sutton was, from 1918 until 2010, a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. History Pl ...

and once in Plymouth Devonport) in general elections (in Plymouth Devonport against

David Owen David Anthony Llewellyn Owen, Baron Owen, (born 2 July 1938) is a British politician and physician who served as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs as a Labour Party MP under James Callaghan from 1977 to 1979, and later ...

). From 1974 to 1976 he was president at European level of the

. Priestley was an Official of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the 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 adop ...

from 1973, first as Administrator, then Principal Administrator with the secretariat of the Committee on Budgets 1973–1983, chairman, Staff Committee of the European Parliament (1981–1983), Head of Division of the Committee on Energy, Research and Technology 1984–1987, Co-chairman of the Staff Regulations Committee of the EC (1985–1987), Director in the Directorate General of Committees and Interparliamentary Delegations, responsible for budgetary affairs and the single market 1987–1989, Secretary General, Socialist Group, European Parliament 1989–1994, Director, Private Office of the President of the European Parliament 1994–1997, and Secretary General, European Parliament from March 1997 until March 2007 The

Secretariat of the European Parliament The Secretariat of the European Parliament is the administrative body of the European Parliament headed by a Secretary-General. It is based in the Kirchberg district of Luxembourg City and around the Brussels-Luxembourg Station in Brussels and ...

is the administrative body of the European Parliament headed by a Secretary-General. It is based in the Kirchberg district of

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small land ...

and around the Brussels-Luxembourg Station in Brussels and employs 4000 officials. As Secretary General, Priestley was the most senior British EU civil servant. Priestley was appointed

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in hono ...

in the

2007 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2007 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 17 June 2007, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2007.Antigua & Barbuda list: The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and ...

. He was asked to participate in the second Irish referendum campaign on the Lisbon Treaty. Priestley is the author of ''Six Battles That Shaped Europe's Parliament'' (2008). He died of cancer on 22 April 2017, aged 66. In his memory, an annual Juilian Priestley lecture was established by former colleagues of his and is hosted by the UK

European Movement The European Movement International is a lobbying association that coordinates the efforts of associations and national councils with the goal of promoting European integration, and disseminating information about it. History The origins of the ...

. The first lecture was given in 2018 by

Richard Corbett Richard Graham Corbett CBE (born 6 January 1955) is a former British politician who served as the final Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party (EPLP), from 2017 to 2020. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Merseys ...

MEP, the second in 2019 by the TUC General Secretary

Frances O'Grady Frances Lorraine Maria O'Grady, Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway (born 9 November 1959) became the General Secretary of the British Trades Union Congress (TUC) in 2013, the first woman to hold the position. After O'Grady presented her resignat ...

and the third in 2021 (postponed from 2020 due to Covid) by former Irish diplomat

Bobby McDonagh Bobby McDonagh (born 29 June 1954) is a former Irish diplomat. Biography He was educated in Gonzaga College, Dublin and graduated from Balliol College, Oxford with an Master of Arts (MA) (Greats/Classics). He was elected President of the Oxfor ...

, and the fourth in 2022 by the former Green MEP

Molly Scott Cato Sarah Margaret "Molly" Scott Cato (born 21 May 1963) is a British Green Party of England and Wales, Green politician, economist and activist. She served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South West England (European Parliament c ...

(hosted by

Jan Royall Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

at Somerville college Oxford).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Priestley, Julian 1950 births 2017 deaths European Parliament Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates People educated at St Boniface's Catholic College Politicians from Plymouth, Devon Presidents of the Oxford Union