Edward Joseph Phelan (25 July 1888 – 15 September 1967), frequently E. J. Phelan, was the first appointed international civil servant and fourth Director-General 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 ...
, serving from 1941 to 1948, during most of which time the ILO was temporarily relocated to
Montréal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...
from
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 ...
. Phelan was the principal author of the
Declaration of Philadelphia
The Declaration of Philadelphia (10 May 1944) restated the traditional objectives of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and then branched out in two new directions: the centrality of human rights to social policy, and the need for interna ...
.
Early years
Edward Phelan was born in
Tramore
Tramore (; ) is a seaside town in County Waterford, on the southeast coast of Ireland. With humble origins as a small fishing village, the area saw rapid development upon the arrival of the railway from Waterford City in 1853. Initially, the to ...
,
County Waterford
County Waterford ( ga, Contae Phort Láirge) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region. It is named ...
, on the south coast of
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 ...
. His father, Thomas, who came from nearby
Cheekpoint
Cheekpoint () is a village set on the confluence of the River Suir and the River Barrow. Lying beneath the 150-metre-high Minaun Hill ''(mountain meadow by a river)'' the village has panoramic views of Waterford Harbour, the 2131 ft. Bar ...
was a ship's captain, as was his grandfather. When he was seven years of age his father was employed on the
transatlantic
Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to:
Film
* Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950
* Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s
* ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film), ...
liner route and the family moved to
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
in England. He retained a strong sense of his Irish identity, and returned every year for holidays. In Liverpool he attended
St. Francis Xavier's College
, motto_translation = Gentle In Manner; Resolute In Action
, established =
, religion = Catholic
, faculty = 56
, enrollment = 700
, gender = Single-sex education, Boys school
, language ...
and at
University College Liverpool
, mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning
, established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
where he studied mathematics. He received an Honours degree in Physics, to which he added a
B.A
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in anticipation of joining the
British Civil Service
His Majesty's Home Civil Service, also known as His Majesty's Civil Service, the Home Civil Service, or colloquially as the Civil Service is the permanent bureaucracy or secretariat of Crown employees that supports His Majesty's Government, which ...
. His first posting was to the
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
where he investigated social issues such as cost of living, rent and housing conditions in England and Scotland. Phelan wanted to see the world, so he resigned his secure job and began to work for George Lunn Tours Ltd. a tourist agency with headquarters at
Lugano
Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...
, Switzerland, near the Italian border.
Civil Service
Phelan was contacted by the Board of Trade to participate in an enquiry into housing conditions in
South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
. Although he was very much enjoying his new job and the opportunities it afforded him to travel, he returned to London to resume duties at the Civil Service. The outbreak of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
ensured the suspension of the enquiry and he was instead assigned to the newly established
Ministry of Labour
The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...
at
Montagu House, Whitehall
Montagu House in Whitehall, Westminster, London, England, was the town house built by John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu (1690–1749), whose country seat was Boughton House in Northamptonshire.
History
In 1731, John Montagu, 2nd Duke of ...
. Phelan accompanied
Bruce Lockhart as the first British delegation to meet the
Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
in January 1918,just as the
Finnish civil war
The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...
commenced and coincidental with the
Brest-Litovsk
Brest ( be, Брэст / Берасьце, Bieraście, ; russian: Брест, ; uk, Берестя, Berestia; lt, Brasta; pl, Brześć; yi, בריסק, Brisk), formerly Brest-Litovsk (russian: Брест-Литовск, lit=Lithuanian Br ...
negotiations. At the beginning of March Phelan returned to England and his work at the Ministry of Labour where he headed a think-tank dealing with 'foreign questions'. In the Autumn of 1918 he suggested that the Ministry should formulate a policy position for the anticipated peace treaties. Phelan referred to this decision as the conception of the ILO.
[''Irish Times'', 3 June 1950, p. 5] Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for lea ...
approved the initiative and Phelan became secretary to
George Barnes of the British peace delegation.
International Labour Office
A few months after the signing of the
Versailles treaty
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
and prior to its ratification, Phelan and
Harold Butler organised the inaugural meeting of the ILO in
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
. As Director-General, he was preceded by
John Gilbert Winant
John Gilbert Winant (February 23, 1889 – November 3, 1947) was an American diplomat and politician with the Republican party after a brief career as a teacher in Concord, New Hampshire. John Winant held positions in New Hampshire, national, a ...
and succeeded by
David A. Morse.
References
Sources
*van Hoek, Kees : ''Vignette: Edward Phelan'' :
Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
: 3 Jan. 1950 p5
*R H Bruce Lockhart
''Memoirs of a British Agent''
*Phelan, Edward Josep
and Albert Thomas'': 1936
''Unemployment as a world-problem''By
John Maynard Keynes
John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes, ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originally trained in ...
,
Karl Přibram
Karl Eman Přibram (22 December 1877, Prague – 15 July 1973, Washington, D.C.), also known as “Karl Pribram”, was an Austrian-born economist. He is most noted for his work in labor economics, in industrial organization, and in the hist ...
, Edward Joseph Phelan,
Quincy Wright
Philip Quincy Wright (December 28, 1890 – October 17, 1970) was an American political scientist based at the University of Chicago known for his pioneering work and expertise in international law, international relations, and security studies. ...
(ed.). 'Lectures on the
Harris Foundation, 1931', pub. 1970.
*IL
''Edward Phelan and the ILO: Life and views of an international social actor''2009
Executive Summary of book - Edward Phelan and the ILOpp4
External links
Photograph of Phelan signing the Declaration of Philadelphia at the White House. Washington DC, on 17 May 1944Source ILO.org
E J Phelan Postgraduate Fellowship in International LawNational University of Ireland
The National University of Ireland (NUI) ( ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann) is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called ''university college, constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under t ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phelan, Edward J.
1888 births
1967 deaths
Irish civil servants
People from County Waterford
Civil servants in the Board of Trade
Civil servants in the Ministry of Labour