John Gwynfryn Morgan

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(16 February 1934 – 21 April 2010) was a British Labour Party official and EU civil servant. Morgan was born in

Cwmdare Cwmdare ( cy, Cwmdâr) is a village very close to Aberdare, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The village's history is intertwined with coal-mining, and since the decline of the industry in the 1980s, it has become primarily a commuter base for the lar ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, the son of a coal miner. He attended Aberdare Boys Grammar School before going on to the

University College Wales, Aberystwyth , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

, where he studied

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

. He also played

Second XI Championship The Second XI Championship is a season-long cricket competition in England that is competed for by the reserve teams of those county cricket clubs that have first-class status. The competition started in 1959 and has been contested annually ever ...

cricket for

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

.John Gwynfryn Morgan, OBE
, Aberdare Boys Grammar School From 1960 to 1962, Morgan was president of the National Union of Students. He was also Secretary General of the

International Student Conference International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

, a non-communist competitor of the

International Union of Students The International Union of Students (IUS) was a worldwide nonpartisan association of university student organizations. The IUS was the umbrella organization for 155 such students' organizations across 112 countries and Territory (administrative ...

. Tam Dalyell
Gwyn Morgan: Labour politician who might have prevented the SDP breakaway
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 14 May 2010. Morgan served as head of the Labour Party's Overseas Department from 1965 to 1969, succeeding

David Ennals David Hedley Ennals, Baron Ennals, (19 August 1922 – 17 June 1995) was a British Labour Party politician and campaigner for human rights. He served as Secretary of State for Social Services from 1976 to 1979. Early life and military career ...

. He was then assistant general secretary to Harry Nicholas from 1969 to 1972. Morgan was groomed to succeed Nicholas as General Secretary of the Labour Party, but when Nicholas retired the National Executive Committee instead narrowly selected

Ron Hayward Ronald George Hayward, (27 June 1917 – 22 March 1996), was a leading activist in the British Labour Party. Early life Born near Chipping Sodbury in Gloucestershire, Hayward served in the Royal Air Force during World War II. Labour P ...

. The committee was deadlocked for three consecutive ballots, with the left-leaning Hayward finally winning on the casting vote of chairman

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British politician, writer and diarist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s. ...

Tom McNally Thomas McNally, Baron McNally, PC (born 20 February 1943) is a British politician and a former Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords. Early life McNally was born in Blackpool. A Catholic of Irish descent, he attended St Jos ...

Gwyn Morgan obituary
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 14 May 2010. In 1973, Morgan left the British political scene to go and work for the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

. Until 1975, he was chief of staff to

George Thomson George Thomson may refer to: Government and politics * George Thomson (MP for Southwark) (c. 1607–1691), English merchant and Parliamentarian soldier, official and politician * George Thomson, Baron Thomson of Monifieth (1921–2008), Scottish p ...

, the

European Commissioner for Regional Policy The Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms is a portfolio within the European Commission. The current Commissioner is Elisa Ferreira. The portfolio is responsible for managing the regional policy of the European Union, such as the European Regiona ...

. Morgan later held various EU administrative and diplomatic positions, and helped create the

European Development Fund Global Europe, officially the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), is the financial arm of the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union, which provides funding for the European Neighbourhoo ...

. He was prominent in the "Yes" campaign for the 1975 EEC membership referendum, and was also on the bureau of the

Socialist International The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisations. ...

. In his personal life, Morgan was a director of

London Welsh RFC London Welsh Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain) was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons, ...

. He was made an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in 1999.

References

1934 births 2010 deaths Alumni of Aberystwyth University European civil servants Labour Party (UK) officials Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Aberdare High School People from Cynon Valley Presidents of the National Union of Students (United Kingdom) British officials of the European Union {{Wales-bio-stub

See also

References