Fred Mulley
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 | Jim Callaghan |
Preceded by | Ian Gilmour |
Succeeded by | William Rodgers |
Secretary of State for Defence | |
In office 10 September 1976 – 4 May 1979 | |
Prime Minister | Jim 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 Jim 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 for Sheffield Park | |
In office 23 February 1950 – 13 May 1983 | |
Preceded by | Thomas Burden |
Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | Frederick William Mulley 3 July 1918 Warwick, Warwickshire, England |
Died | 15 March 1995 Lambeth, England | (aged 76)
Political party | Labour |
Alma mater | University of London Christ Church, Oxford St Catharine's College, Cambridge |
Military service | |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Branch/service | ![]() |
Rank | Sergeant |
Unit | Worcestershire Regiment |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Frederick William Mulley, Baron Mulley, PC (3 July 1918 – 15 March 1995) was a British Labour politician, barrister-at-law and economist.
Early life[]
Mulley attended Warwick School between 1929 and 1936. He served in the Worcestershire Regiment in the Second World War, reaching the rank of sergeant, 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 University of London as an external student and became a chartered secretary.[1]
At the end of the war, he received an adult scholarship to Christ Church, Oxford, and after a brief spell on an economics fellowship at the University of Cambridge (1948–50) he trained as a barrister, being called to the Bar in 1954.
Parliamentary career[]
Mulley had been a member of the Labour Party since 1936 and at the 1945 general election he unsuccessfully contested the constituency of Sutton Coldfield. He became Member of Parliament for Sheffield Park in 1950, a position he held until deselected by his local party prior to the 1983 general election.
During a long career in politics he held many ministerial positions including Minister of Aviation (1965–67), Minister for Disarmament (1967–69), and Minister 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. Although he owned an Austin Maxi, his wife was the sole user of it during this period.[2]
In 1975 Harold Wilson brought him to the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Education and Science, and in 1976 became Secretary of State for Defence.
He fell asleep during the Queen's Jubilee Review of the Royal Air Force at RAF Finningley in 1977 when there was considerable noise around him. Having a small sleep during exercise was referred to by members of the RAF as having a "Fred Mulley". It was suggested in the satirical magazine Private Eye that Mulley was guilty of treason (then still a capital offence) for having slept with the Queen.
House of Lords[]
After retiring from the House of Commons in 1983, he was created a life peer as Baron Mulley, of Manor Park in the City of Sheffield on 30 January 1984,[3] and he held a variety of directorial positions.
Legacy[]
A main road in the Lower Don Valley in Sheffield is named after him.
References[]
- ^ Worcestershire Regiment (29th/36th of Foot) Web site
- ^ "Election special: Who's hand on the wheel?". Autocar. 141 (nbr 4067): 39–40. 5 October 1974.
- ^ "No. 49636". The London Gazette. 2 February 1984. p. 1499.
External links[]
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Fred Mulley
- 1918 births
- 1995 deaths
- Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
- Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge
- Alumni of University of London Worldwide
- Alumni of the University of London
- Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical and Computer Staff-sponsored MPs
- British Army personnel of World War II
- British Secretaries of State for Education
- Chairs of the Labour Party (UK)
- Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
- Labour Party (UK) life peers
- Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
- Ministers in the Wilson governments, 1964–1970
- People educated at Warwick School
- Secretaries of State for Defence (UK)
- Secretaries of State for Transport (UK)
- UK MPs 1950–1951
- UK MPs 1951–1955
- UK MPs 1955–1959
- UK MPs 1959–1964
- UK MPs 1964–1966
- UK MPs 1966–1970
- UK MPs 1970–1974
- UK MPs 1974
- UK MPs 1974–1979
- UK MPs 1979–1983
- Worcestershire Regiment soldiers
- World War II prisoners of war held by Germany
- British World War II prisoners of war