Herman George Ouseley, Baron Ouseley (24 March 1945 – 2 October 2024) was a British parliamentarian. Before becoming a member of the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
he was an important figure in public authorities, including local councils, and was an adviser and reviewer of public services organisations with a particular focus on equality and diversity. He was at the forefront of challenging institutional racism in organisations and was an advocate on behalf of individuals from disadvantaged and deprived backgrounds.
Ouseley sat in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
as a
crossbencher
A crossbencher is a minor party or independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. They take their name fr ...
from 2001 until his retirement in 2019. He was also included in the 2003 list of "
100 Great Black Britons
''100 Great Black Britons'' is a poll that was first undertaken in 2003 to vote for and celebrate the greatest Black Britons of all time. It was created in a campaign initiated by Patrick Vernon in response to a BBC search for ''100 Greatest Brito ...
".
Ouseley was a supporter of
Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...
and
Rangers
A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...
.
Early life
Herman Ouseley was born in
British Guiana
British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana.
The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...
in 1945 and came to England in 1957 when he was 11 years old. He was educated at William Penn School and at Catford College, where he gained a diploma in municipal administration.
Career
Ouseley was a local government officer between 1963 and 1993. He was appointed the first principal race relations advisor in local government. From 1981, he served as principal race relations adviser and head of the
Greater London Council
The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...
's Ethnic Minority Unit. He later became chief executive of the
London Borough of Lambeth
Lambeth () is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London is at Frazi ...
and the former
Inner London Education Authority
The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was the local education authority for the City of London and the 12 Inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990. From 1965 to 1986 it was an ad hoc committee of the Greater London Co ...
(the first black person to hold such an office), responsible for over 1000 schools and colleges across the capital. Ouseley was chair and
chief executive
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
in the
Commission for Racial Equality
In-Commission or commissioning may refer to:
Business and contracting
* Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered
** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...
from 1993 to 2000.
From 1996, he was a director of Brookmight Security and, from 2000, of Focus Consultancy. He was managing director of Different Realities Partnership between 2000 and 2005, then subsequently a self-employed management consultant undertaking reviews of organisations' performance and assignments in pursuit of equality and diversity outcomes.
Work on racism
In 1993, Ouseley set up the project to tackle racism in football and was chairman of Kick It Out, the well-known campaign to make football free from discrimination and abuse and to be more inclusive of people of all backgrounds. Ouseley did not receive a salary for his work for Kick It Out.
Other activities
From 1997, Ouseley chaired the Chandran Foundation (formerly Preset Education Charity) that provided specialist education provision for young people with learning disadvantages. He was a council member for the Institute of Relations, a think tank focused on challenging injustices and inequalities. He was also on the board of directors of the Manchester United Foundation and was a lifelong fan of
Manchester United
Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
. He also supported his local team,
Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...
, and
Dulwich Hamlet
Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill.
History
The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. The ...
, one of the local teams he played for in his youth.
Death
Ouseley died shortly after being diagnosed with a terminal illness on 2 October 2024, at the age of 79.
Honours
Ouseley was made a
Knight Bachelor
The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...
in the
1997 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 1997 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...
for "services to community relations and local government", and 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 ...
as Baron Ouseley, of
Peckham Rye
Peckham Rye is an open space and road in the London Borough of Southwark, London, England. The roughly triangular open space lies to the south of Peckham and consists of two contiguous areas, Peckham Rye Common to the north and Peckham Rye Park t ...
in the
London Borough of Southwark
The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council ...
on 26 June 2001.
Ouseley had 13 honorary degrees: from the Universities of
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
Bradford
Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
,
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
Warwick
Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...
,
Oxford Brookes
Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The university was na ...
,
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
, and
Brighton
Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
Institute of Race Relations
The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) is a think tank based in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1958 in order to publish research on race relations worldwide, and in 1972 was transformed into an "anti-racist think tank".
Proposed by ''Sund ...