The Lord Mulley | |
|---|---|
 Mulley in 1967, when a junior defence minister | |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Defence | |
| In office 4 May 1979 – 14 June 1979 | |
| Leader | James Callaghan |
| Preceded by | Ian Gilmour |
| Succeeded by | William Rodgers |
| Secretary of State for Defence | |
| In office 10 September 1976 – 4 May 1979 | |
| Prime Minister | James Callaghan |
| Preceded by | Roy Mason |
| Succeeded by | Francis Pym |
| Secretary of State for Education and Science | |
| In office 5 March 1975 – 10 September 1976 | |
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson James Callaghan |
| Preceded by | Reg Prentice |
| Succeeded by | Shirley Williams |
| Minister of Transport | |
| In office 7 March 1974 – 5 March 1975 | |
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | John Peyton(Transport Industries) |
| Succeeded by | John Gilbert |
| Member of Parliament forSheffield Park | |
| In office 23 February 1950 – 13 May 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Burden |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Frederick William Mulley (1918-07-03)3 July 1918 |
| Died | 15 March 1995(1995-03-15) (aged 76) Lambeth, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Alma mater | University of London Christ Church, Oxford St Catharine's College, Cambridge |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch/service |  British Army |
| Rank | Sergeant |
| Unit | Worcestershire Regiment |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Frederick William Mulley, Baron Mulley,PC (3 July 1918 – 15 March 1995) was a BritishLabour Party politician, barrister-at-law and economist.
Mulley was born inLeamington Spa,Warwickshire, the son of William Mulley, a general labourer fromThe Fens, and his wife Mary (née Boiles), a domestic servant. He attendedWarwick School on a scholarship between 1929 and 1936, leaving with thehigher school certificate. As his father, who by this time was unemployed, could not afford to support him through university, Mulley instead became an accounts clerk under the national health insurance scheme.[1] He served in theWorcestershire Regiment during theSecond World War, reaching the rank ofsergeant, but was captured in 1940 and spent five years as a prisoner of war in Germany. During this time he obtained a BSc in economics from theUniversity of London as an external student and became a chartered secretary.[2]
At the end of the war, Mulley received an adult scholarship toChrist Church, Oxford, graduating with afirst-class degree in politics, philosophy and economics in 1947.[1] After a brief spell as an economics fellow atSt Catharine's College, Cambridge (1948–50), he trained as a barrister, being called to the Bar in 1954.
Mulley had been a member of the Labour Party and theNational Association of Clerks and Administrative Workers since 1936,[1] and at the1945 general election he unsuccessfully contested the constituency ofSutton Coldfield. He becameMember of Parliament forSheffield Park in 1950, a position he held untildeselected by his local party prior to the1983 general election, when his constituency disappeared in a redistribution of boundaries.
During a long career in politics Mulley held many ministerial positions, includingMinister of Aviation (1965–67), Minister for Disarmament (1967–69), andMinister of Transport (1969–70, 1974–75). While at the Transport Ministry he believed it would be inappropriate to be seen to be a car driver; thus, although he owned anAustin Maxi, his wife was the sole user of it during this period.[3]
In 1975Harold Wilson brought him into theCabinet asSecretary of State for Education and Science, and in 1976 becameSecretary of State for Defence until the Labour Party's defeat at the1979 general election.
Writing in theOxford Dictionary of National Biography, former Cabinet ministerEdmund Dell argued that Mulley was both a party loyalist of "unassailable" working-class credentials and a genuineOxbridge intellectual, an unusual combination that made him valuable to Wilson and to Wilson's successor,James Callaghan.[1]
Mulley did not seek re-election at theHouse of Commons in 1983 and was created alife peer asBaron Mulley, of Manor Park in the City ofSheffield on 30 January 1984,[4] after which and he held a variety of directorial positions.
A main road in theLower Don Valley in Sheffield is named after him.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forSheffield Park 1950–1983 | Constituency abolished |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded byas Minister of State for Transport Industries | Minister of Transport 1974–1975 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Education and Science 1975–1976 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Defence 1976–1979 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Secretary of State for Defence 1979 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chair of the Labour Party 1974–1975 | Succeeded by |
| Presidents of the Board of Education | .svg) | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ministers of education | |||||||||||||||
| Secretaries of state |
| ||||||||||||||
| Minister for Science | | |
|---|---|---|
| Secretary of State for Education and Science | ||
| Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills | ||
| Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
_(St_Edwards_Crown).svg)
