William Henry Brett, Baron Brett (6 March 1942 – 29 March 2012) was a British 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 a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, the son of William and Mary Brett was educated in Radcliffe Technical College, in Radcliffe, near Bury. 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 rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commis ...

, from 1965 to 1967, he was administrative assistant for Transport Salaried Staffs Association, 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 Techn ...

. For the Institution of Professionals, Managers and Specialists, 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 (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

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 or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

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 Trades 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 one of the firs ...

(ILO) in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

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

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, 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 Nationa ...

(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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

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 ...

in the

County of Kent Kent is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Greater London to the north-west. ...

''. 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