William Henry Brett, Baron Brett (6 March 1942 – 29 March 2012) was a British

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

politician and trade unionist. He was previously the Labour Party's spokesperson (when Labour entered opposition) for International Development. Born in Heywood in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, the son of William and Mary Brett was educated in Radcliffe Technical College, in

Radcliffe Radcliffe or Radcliff may refer to: Places * Radcliffe Line, a border between India and Pakistan United Kingdom * Radcliffe, Greater Manchester ** Radcliffe Tower, the remains of a medieval manor house in the town ** Radcliffe tram stop * ...

, near

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

. From 1958 to 1964, he worked for

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

, from 1965 to 1967, he was administrative assistant for

Transport Salaried Staffs Association The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) is a trade union for workers in the transport and travel industries in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its head office is in London, and it has regional offices in Bristol, Derby, Dublin, Manche ...

, and from 1966 to 1968 North West organiser for National Union of Bank Employees. Between 1968 and 1974, Brett was divisional officer for the

Association of Scientific, Technical and Managerial Staffs The Association of Scientific, Technical and Managerial Staffs (ASTMS) was a British trade union which existed between 1969 and 1988. History The ASTMS was created in 1969 when ASSET (the Association of Supervisory Staffs, Executives and Techni ...

. For the

Institution of Professionals, Managers and Specialists The Institution of Professionals, Managers and Specialists (IPMS) was a trade union representing managers and other people with professional qualifications in the United Kingdom, with a majority of members working in the civil service. History ...

, he was Assistant General Secretary from 1980 to 1989 and

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

from 1989 to 1999. Also from 1989 to 1999, he was a member of the

executive committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

for the

Public Services International Public Services International (PSI) is the global union federation for workers in public services, including those who work in social services, health care, municipal services, central government and public utilities. , PSI has 700 affiliated ...

, and of the

General Council of the Trades Union Congress The General Council of the Trades Union Congress is an elected body which is responsible for carrying out the policies agreed at the annual British Trade Union Congresses (TUC). Organisation The council has 56 members, all of whom must be proposed ...

(TUC). Between 1992 and 2003, Brett was member, vice-chairman, chair of the worker group and chair of the Governing body of the

International Labour Office The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and ol ...

(ILO) in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

. From 2004, he was director of the ILO in the United Kingdom and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, although the ILO office in London has recently closed down. He was further a member of the

Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical and Computer Staff The Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical and Computer Staff (APEX) was a British trade union which represented clerical and administrative employees. History The Clerks Union was formed in 1890 and later was renamed as the Nation ...

(APEX) from 1960 to 1999. On 20 July 1999, he was made a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

with the title Baron Brett, ''of

Lydd Lydd is a town and electoral ward in Kent, England, lying on Romney Marsh. It is one of the larger settlements on the marsh, and the most southerly town in Kent. Lydd reached the height of its prosperity during the 13th century, when it was a c ...

in the

County of Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces the ...

''. Brett married firstly Jean Valerie Cooper in 1961. Divorced in 1986, he married secondly Janet Winters in 1994 divorced 2006. He had a son, Martin, and a daughter, Claire, and two grandchildren Lewis and Josh, and two daughters, Judith and Hannah by his second wife. Lord Brett died on 29 March 2012 after a long illness.

Works

*''International Labour in the 21st Century'' (1994)

References

* * 1942 births Labour Party (UK) life peers 2012 deaths British trade union leaders Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress People from Lydd 20th-century British businesspeople Life peers created by Elizabeth II {{Life-peer-stub