George Victor Harris Kneale (born 12 January 1918, died 8 April 2007) was a Manx politician and former
Speaker of the House of Keys
The Speaker of the House of Keys () is the principal officer of the House of Keys, the lower house of the Isle of Man legislature. The Speaker is elected from the membership of the House at its first sitting after an election. He is responsibl ...
and
Education Minister.
Victor Kneale was elected
MHK for
Douglas West in 1962. He was Chairman of the Board of Education for 15 years, having been a non political member of the Board from 1951 until his election in 1962. He was then elevated to the
Legislative Council of the Isle of Man
The Legislative Council ( gv, Yn Choonceil Slattyssagh) is the upper chamber of Tynwald, the legislature of the Isle of Man. The abbreviation "LegCo" is often used.
It consists of eleven members (MLCs):
* Eight members elected by the House of ...
in 1974 before resigning his seat to contest the 1981 General Election. He resigned because of his belief the Legislative Council members should be publicly elected. This was an issue he was still pursuing until a short time before his death having recently submitted his own system for such elections to the
Council of Ministers
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
for consideration. He won his old seat back and became
Minister of Education until 1990 when he was elected
Speaker of the House of Keys
The Speaker of the House of Keys () is the principal officer of the House of Keys, the lower house of the Isle of Man legislature. The Speaker is elected from the membership of the House at its first sitting after an election. He is responsibl ...
.
He retired at the 1991 General Election.
Mr. Kneale became well known as a fierce critic at times of both the government and politicians in general. He was heavily involved in the Scouting movement, being an Island Vice President, and a President of the Isle of Man Branch of the
Royal Artillery Association
The Royal Artillery Association is an association of serving and former soldiers (officers and other ranks) of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA ...
. He was appointed a
CBE
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 ...
in 1989.
Governmental positions
*Chairman of the Board of Education, 1962–1972, 1981–1986
*
Education Minister, 1986–1990
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kneale, Victor
Manx politicians
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
1918 births
2007 deaths