The Lord Merlyn-Rees | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Merlyn Rees onAfter Dark in 1988 | |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Energy | |
| In office 4 November 1980 – 24 November 1982 | |
| Leader | Michael Foot |
| Preceded by | David Owen |
| Succeeded by | John Smith |
| Shadow Home Secretary | |
| In office 4 May 1979 – 4 November 1980 | |
| Leader | James Callaghan |
| Preceded by | William Whitelaw |
| Succeeded by | Roy Hattersley |
| Home Secretary | |
| In office 10 September 1976 – 4 May 1979 | |
| Prime Minister | James Callaghan |
| Preceded by | Roy Jenkins |
| Succeeded by | William Whitelaw |
| Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | |
| In office 5 March 1974 – 10 September 1976 | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Francis Pym |
| Succeeded by | Roy Mason |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | |
| In office 24 March 1972 – 4 March 1974 | |
| Leader | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Francis Pym |
| Member of Parliament forMorley and Leeds South Leeds South (1963–1983) | |
| In office 20 June 1963 – 16 March 1992 | |
| Preceded by | Hugh Gaitskell |
| Succeeded by | John Gunnell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Merlyn Rees (1920-12-18)18 December 1920 Cilfynydd, Wales |
| Died | 5 January 2006(2006-01-05) (aged 85) London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | |
Merlyn Merlyn-Rees, Baron Merlyn-Rees,PC (néMerlyn Rees; 18 December 1920 – 5 January 2006) was a BritishLabour Party politician andMember of Parliament from 1963 until 1992. He served asSecretary of State for Northern Ireland (1974–1976) andHome Secretary (1976–1979).
Rees was born in Cilfynydd, nearPontypridd,Glamorgan, the son of Levi Rees, a war veteran who moved from Wales to England to find work.[1] He was educated atHarrow WealdGrammar School,Harrow, England andGoldsmiths College, London where he was president of thestudents' union. Goldsmiths was evacuated to Nottingham University early in the war, where Rees served in Nottingham University Air Squadron.[2]
In 1941 Rees joined theRoyal Air Force, becoming a squadron leader and earning the nickname "Dagwood". He served in Italy as operations and intelligence officer to No 324 Squadron under Group CaptainW. G. G. Duncan Smith (father ofthe future Conservative leader).[3] One of Rees's Spitfire pilots in Italy,Frank Cooper, became his Permanent Secretary at the Northern Ireland Office.[3]
After the war, Rees declined a permanent commission in the RAF, and instead attended theLondon School of Economics where he receivedBSc(Econ) andMSc(Econ).[3] He was appointedschoolmaster at his old school in Harrow in 1949, teaching economics and history.[3] He taught for eleven years, during which time he was three times an unsuccessful parliamentary candidate forHarrow East, in1955,1959, and in a1959 by-election.[3] He was a member of theInstitute of Education at theUniversity of London from 1960 to 1962.[3]
Ata by-election in 1963, Rees stood as the Labour candidate forLeeds South and succeeded Labour leaderHugh Gaitskell, who had died in office.[3] (The constituency was renamedMorley and Leeds South in 1983.) He held the seat until he stepped down from the House of Commons at the1992 general election.[3]
In 1965 Rees becameParliamentary Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, with responsibility for the army (1965–1966) and later for the Royal Air Force (1966–1968).Denis Healey, who was thenSecretary of State for Defence, had served with Rees in the Italian campaign.[4][5] Rees was Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Home Office, whereJames Callaghan wasHome Secretary, from November 1968 until the June 1970 general election.[4]
In October 1971 Rees became Labour Party spokesman onNorthern Ireland.[5] When the Labour government returned to office in March 1974, he was appointedSecretary of State for Northern Ireland. One month after Rees's appointment, he lifted the proscription against the illegalloyalist paramilitary organisation, theUlster Volunteer Force (UVF) to bring them into the democratic process.[6] The UVF was implicated in the 17 May 1974Dublin and Monaghan bombings and the group was banned again by the British Government on 3 October 1975. Rees' decision to permit theSunningdale power sharing arrangements to collapse in Northern Ireland was described as 'supine' by formerSDLP leader,Seamus Mallon.[7][8] Rees was almost assassinated by the IRA in July 1976. He was to travel to the Republic to consult with the AmbassadorChristopher Ewart-Biggs and Irish ministers but postponed his trip after Margaret Thatcher refused to allow Northern Ireland ministers to pair their votes in House of Commons divisions. Rees wrote later that it seemed likely the IRA had known of his impending visit but were unaware of its cancellation. Ewart-Biggs and FCO official Judith Cooke died in a landmine explosion.[9]
Rees later wrote of his experiences in Northern Ireland inNorthern Ireland: a Personal Perspective.[10][11]In September 1976 Rees was appointedHome Secretary and remained in that post until Labour's defeat in the 1979 UK elections.[1]
When Rees retired from theHouse of Commons in 1992, he was created alife peer asBaron Merlyn-Rees, of Morley and South Leeds in the County ofWest Yorkshire and ofCilfynydd in the County ofMid Glamorgan and entered theHouse of Lords, having changed his name, on 23 June 1992, bydeed poll to Merlyn Merlyn-Rees to allow his title to be Merlyn-Rees rather than Rees.[12][13][14] Rees was president of theVideo Standards Council from 1990 and was the first Chancellor of theUniversity of Glamorgan, a position he held from 1994 to 2002.[15]
In 1949, Rees married Colleen Cleveley, and they had three sons.[3] Rees suffered injuries in a number of falls in his last years. In late 2005, a fall at his home inSouthwark caused him to lapse into a coma, from which he never emerged; he died atSt Thomas's Hospital on 5 January 2006, at the age of 85.[16]
Merlyn Rees Avenue inMorley, West Yorkshire is named after Rees. Merlyn Rees Community High School inBelle Isle, Leeds was named after Rees until its merger with Mathew Murray Comprehensive School in 2006 when it was renamedSouth Leeds High School.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forLeeds South 1963–1983 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forMorley and Leeds South 1983–1992 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 1974–1976 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Home Secretary 1976–1979 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| New title | Chancellor of theUniversity of Glamorgan 1994–2002 | Succeeded by |
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