The Lord Lever of Manchester | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | |
| In office 5 March 1974 – 4 May 1979 | |
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson James Callaghan |
| Preceded by | John Davies |
| Succeeded by | Norman St John-Stevas |
| Member of Parliament forManchester Central | |
| In office 28 February 1974 – 3 July 1979 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency Created |
| Succeeded by | Bob Litherland |
| Member of Parliament forManchester Cheetham | |
| In office 23 February 1950 – 8 February 1974 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency Created |
| Succeeded by | Constituency Abolished |
| Member of Parliament forManchester Exchange | |
| In office 5 July 1945 – 3 February 1950 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Hewlett |
| Succeeded by | William Griffiths |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1914-01-15)15 January 1914 |
| Died | 6 August 1995(1995-08-06) (aged 81) London, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Alma mater | University of Manchester |
Norman Harold Lever, Baron Lever of Manchester,PC (15 January 1914 – 6 August 1995) was a Britishbarrister andLabour Party politician.
He was born inManchester, the son of a Jewish textile merchant from Lithuania, and was educated atManchester Grammar School andManchester University. He was called to the Bar of theMiddle Temple in 1935. DuringWorld War II he served in theRoyal Air Force. His brother wasLeslie Lever, Baron Lever.[1]
Lever was electedMember of Parliament forManchester Exchange at the1945 general election, thenManchester, Cheetham from 1950 to 1974. His brother,Leslie Lever, was elected MP for the neighbouringManchester Ardwick seat. He promoted thePrivate Member's Bill that became theDefamation Act 1952.
He was Joint ParliamentaryUnder-Secretary of State for Economic Affairs in 1967;Financial Secretary to the Treasury, September 1967–69;Paymaster General, 1969–70, a Member of theShadow Cabinet from 1970 to 1974 and Chairman of thePublic Accounts Committee, 1970–73. His seat changed again, becomingManchester Central from 1974 to 1979. On Labour's return to power after theFebruary 1974 general election, he wasChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1974 to 1979.
Lever held a number of business appointments in the banking and journalism sectors. He was Governor of theLondon School of Economics from 1971, and of theEnglish Speaking Union 1973–86. He was a Trustee of theRoyal Opera House from 1974 to 1982, and a Member of the Court of Manchester University from 1975 to 1987. He was an Honorary Fellow, and Chairman of the Trustees of theRoyal Academy from 1981 to 1987. He held Honorary doctorates in Law, Science, Literature and Technology and was awarded the Grand Cross,Order of Merit, Germany, 1979.
He was appointed aPrivy Counsellor in 1969 and created alife peer asBaron Lever of Manchester, of Cheetham in the City of Manchester on 3 July 1979.[2] As a Peer and elder statesman he successfully arbitrated the 1980 Steel Strike, one of the UK's longest industrial disputes. In 1983 he served on the Franks Committee, a committee of inquiry by six Privy Counsellors into the Falklands War. In 1984 he was Chairman of the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' commission into the Developing World Debt Crisis. The following year, 1985 he co-wrote "Debt and Danger" which advocated excusing the Developing World a debt burden which was crippling their fragile economies.
His first marriage was in 1939, to a medical student, Ethel Sebrinski (née Samuel), which ended in "a friendly divorce".[3]
In 1945, he married Betty "Billie" Featherman (née Wolfe), and they had one daughter, but Betty died of leukemia shortly after the birth.[4][3]
His third wife was Mrs Diane Zilkha (née Bashi), the ex-wife ofSelim Zilkha, and they married at theWestminster Synagogue on 15 March 1962.[5] They had three daughters.[4] They were married for over 30 years until his death on 6 August 1995, and lived in a 22-roomed apartment inEaton Square, which Diane "converted ... into a palace".[3]
He was a strongbridge player, who represented both the House of Commons and the House of Lords in their annual match. The side he played for usually won.[4]
He died in August 1995, aged 81.
In Whitehall, he is perhaps best remembered for key interventions as a minister during the UK's 1976 IMF/sterling crisis, especially when he successfully proposed in June that the Government demand a large bridging credit from international partners; this came to be regarded by HM Treasury's chief as making eventual recourse to the IMF inevitable.[6]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forManchester Exchange 1945–1950 | Succeeded by |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forManchester Cheetham 1950–1974 | Constituency abolished |
| Member of Parliament forManchester Central 1974–1979 | Succeeded by | |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Financial Secretary to the Treasury 1967–1969 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1974–1979 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
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