The Lord Burlison | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Lord-in-Waiting Government Whip | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 28 January 1999 – 11 June 2000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monarch | Elizabeth II | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | The Lord Hoyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | The Lord Davies of Oldham | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Treasurer of the Labour Party | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 1992–1996 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader | John Smith Margaret Beckett(Acting) Tony Blair | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Sam McCluskie | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Margaret Prosser | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of theHouse of Lords Lord Temporal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 21 October 1997 – 20 May 2008 Life Peerage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Thomas Henry Burlison (1936-05-23)23 May 1936 Edmondsley, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 20 May 2008(2008-05-20) (aged 71) Gateshead, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Labour | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Thomas Henry Burlison, Baron Burlison,DL (23 May 1936 – 20 May 2008) was a Britishfootballer,GMBtrade unionist andTreasurer of the Labour Party. He was the first former professional footballer to take a seat in theHouse of Lords.
Burlison was born inEdmondsley,County Durham, the son of aminer, Robert Burlison, and his wife, Georgina. He was educated in Edmondsley and worked as apanel beater from 1951 to 1957, joining theGeneral and Municipal Workers' Union (GMWU, later merged to form the GMB).
He was a professionalfootballer from 1953 to 1965 (playing forLincoln City,Hartlepool United andDarlington). Between 1959 and 1961 he didNational Service in theRoyal Air Force.
He became a regional officer of the GMB inNewcastle upon Tyne in 1965, and regional secretary in 1978. A polite and unassuming man with a low profile, he was an effective "fixer" behind the scenes, drawing from a base in the union's heartland in the northeast and setting many on the path to power. His staff included former Labour ministersNick Brown andDoug Henderson, and former MEP and Labour leader in the European parliamentAlan Donnelly. He was also involved in the selection of many Labour MPs, includingTony Blair andPeter Mandelson.
He was involved in the negotiations in 1982 to merge the GMWU with the Boilermakers to form theGeneral, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trades Union. He was runner-up behind John Edmonds in the election for general secretary of the GMB in 1985. The GMB merged withAPEX in 1989 for form theGMB Union, and Burlison served as deputy general secretary of the merged union from 1991 to 1996.
He was also treasurer of theLabour Party from 1992 to 1996. He was chairman of theTUC northern region for nine years. He was also a trustee of theBoard of Governors of theUniversity of Northumbria, aDeputy Lieutenant and Honorary President ofHartlepool United. He was an important moderniser on Labour'sNational Executive Committee in the years before the party's landslide victory at the1997 general election.
On 21 October 1997, he was created alife peer asBaron Burlison,ofRowlands Gill, in theCounty of Tyne and Wear.[1] He was aworking peer, and was aLord in Waiting (a Government whip in the House of Lords) from 1999 to 2001.
Burlison married Valerie Stephenson in 1981. They had one son and one daughter.
Burlison lived inRowlands Gill,Tyne and Wear, for at least 20 years. He died inGateshead on 20 May 2008 at the age of 71.[2]
| Trade union offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Andrew Cunningham | Northern District Secretary of theGMB 1978–1991 | Succeeded by Nick Anderson |
| Preceded by New position | Deputy General Secretary of theGMB 1991–1996 | Succeeded by Steve Pickering |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Treasurer of the Labour Party 1992–1996 | Succeeded by |