Barry Herbert Seal (born 28 October 1937) is a British Labour Party politician who served in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

. Born in

Halifax, West Yorkshire Halifax () is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It is the commercial, cultural and administrative centre of the borough, and the headquarters of Calderdale Council. In the 15th cen ...

, Seal was educated at

Heath Grammar School The Crossley Heath School is an 11–18 mixed, grammar school and sixth form with academy status in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1985 following the amalgamation of Heath Grammar School and Crossley and Porter Schoo ...

, the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a Public university, public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be creat ...

, and the European Business School in

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...

. He worked as a chemical engineer, then as a computer consultant and lecturer. Seal became active in the Labour Party, serving on

Bradford City Council City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council is the local authority of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, ...

from 1971 until 1979. At the

October 1974 United Kingdom general election The October 1974 United Kingdom general election took place on Thursday 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members of the British House of Commons. It was the second general election held that year, the first year that two general elections were held ...

, he unsuccessfully contested

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...

. He was

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP) for the single-member seat of Yorkshire West from

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

. He stood unsuccessfully for election to the new multi-member seat of

Yorkshire and the Humber Yorkshire and the Humber is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The population in 2011 was 5,284,000 with its largest settlements being Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Hull, and York. It is ...

in the 1999 European elections. Seal served as Leader of the Labour MEPs from 1988 until 1989, and he served a term as Chair of the Economic and Monetary Committee and time as President of the Parliaments delegation to the USA. In 2002 he became Chairman of Kirklees Primary Care

NHS trust An NHS trust is an organisational unit within the National Health Services of England and Wales, generally serving either a geographical area or a specialised function (such as an ambulance service). In any particular location there may be several ...

and in 2007 became Chairman of Bradford District Care Trust.

References

1937 births Living people Alumni of the University of Bradford European Business School Paris alumni Labour Party (UK) MEPs MEPs for England 1979–1984 MEPs for England 1984–1989 MEPs for England 1989–1994 MEPs for England 1994–1999 People educated at Heath Grammar School {{UK-MEP-stub