Myer Galpern, Baron Galpern, DL (1 January 1903 – 23 September 1993) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

Labour Party politician.

Biography

Born Meyer Galpern at Rutherglen Road,

Hutchesontown Hutchesontown is an inner-city area in Glasgow, Scotland. Mostly residential, it is situated directly south of the River Clyde and forms part of the wider historic Gorbals district, which is covered by the Southside Central (ward), Southside Ce ...

, in the

Gorbals The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, and former burgh, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated; rural migrants and immigrants were attracted by the new industries and e ...

, the son of Morris Galpern, a cabinetmaker, and Anna Talisman. His parents were

Russian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...

immigrants from

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

, who were married in Glasgow on 3 January 1900. Galpern was educated at Hutchesons' Boys Grammar School and the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

before he entered the family's furnishing business. He joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP), chaired its Woodside branch and served on its executive. in 1931, he was elected Chairman of the Glasgow Federation of the ILP. in 1932, he won his seat in the Shettleston (and Tollcross) ward in the east end of Glasgow after having unsuccessfully contested Partick East and Cathcart in previous years. He was an

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

councillor for the Shettleston and Tollcross ward on the

Glasgow Corporation Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the local government authority for Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was formerly governed by a corporation, also kno ...

from 1932 to 1947.

From his seat in the "concealed bed" beneath the public gallery...he has already impressed as a keen, alert, member who can put his points with both conciseness and candour. Prior to his success in Shettleston, Mr, Galpern - a dapper little chap - tried conclusions at Cathcart and Partick East. He has spoken in many corners throughout the country - his "play" being his party. In the Council he has the distinction of being on the General Finance Committee as well as the Markets and Streets.

Galpern joined the General Finance and Markets and Streets Committees. In 1943 he was appointed Depute River Bailie, becoming a Bailie of the Burgh in November 1944. Shortly after the Second World War he was appointed Senior Bailie. In 1947 he left the ILP and resigned his Shettleston seat but, having joined the Labour Party, he was re-elected as councillor for Shettleston and Tollcross in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

. Galpern served as Convener of the Education Committee (1954-1958), before being appointed in 1958 as leader of the Labour group on Glasgow Corporation and leader of the city's administration. He served as

Lord Provost of Glasgow The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Glasgow is the convener of the Glasgow City Council. The Lord Provost serves both as the chair of the city council and as a figurehead for the entire city, and is elected by the city councillors from among i ...

from 1958 to 1960 (the first Jewish provost in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

). He was a member of the Court of Glasgow University, a governor of the

Royal College of Science The Royal College of Science was a higher education institution located in South Kensington; it was a constituent college of Imperial College London from 1907 until it was wholly absorbed by Imperial in 2002. Still to this day, graduates from t ...

and Deputy lieutenant of the

from 1958. During the 1950s, he helped to establish the Kosher School Meals Service, which was set up at Garnethill Synagogue. In May 1958, he was instrumental in the erection of the first Bayit (clubhouse) of the Glasgow Habonim, an organisation of Zionist youth. Galpern was Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Shettleston from 1959 to 1979, becoming the first Jewish MP in Glasgow. He was a

Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, the lower house and primary chamber of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The current speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, was ...

during his final five-year term as an MP, from 1974 to 1979. Having been knighted in 1960, he resigned from the Town Council, thus serving only two - rather than the normal three - years as Lord Provost. He was given a

life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baron Galpern of

Shettleston Shettleston (, ) is an area in the Glasgow#East End, east end of Glasgow in Scotland. Toponymy The origin of the name "Shettleston" is not clear and, like many place-names of possibly medieval origin, has had a multitude of spellings. A papal bu ...

in the District of the City of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

10 July 1979.

References

External links

* ''

Times Guide to the House of Commons ''The Times Guide to the House of Commons'' is a political reference guide book published by Times Newspapers giving coverage of general elections in the United Kingdom. Following most general elections since 1880, the book has been published. T ...

'', October 1974 * * * ''Art UK''
Portrait of Sir Myer Galpern (1903-1993), Lord Provost of Glasgow (1958-1960) by Herbert James Gunn (1893-1964)
* ''Provincial Grand Lodge: Glasgow Freemasons of Interest''
Sir Myer Galpern, Master Mason, Lodge Montefiore No. 753
1903 births 1993 deaths Alumni of the University of Glasgow Scottish Labour MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Scottish Jews Jewish British politicians Labour Party (UK) life peers Councillors in Glasgow Deputy lieutenants of Glasgow Lord provosts of Glasgow UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 Deputy speakers of the British House of Commons Scottish Labour councillors Scottish people of Russian-Jewish descent People from Gorbals Life peers created by Elizabeth II {{Scotland-Labour-UK-MP-stub