Terry Davis (politician)

Last updated

The Right Honourable
Terry Davis
CMG
Terry Davis (3505786190) (cropped).jpg
Davis in 2009
Secretary General of the Council of Europe
In office
1 September 2004 –1 September 2009

Terence Anthony Gordon Davis CMG PC (born 5 January 1938) [1] is a British Labour Party politician and businessman. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bromsgrove from 1971 to 1974, and for Birmingham Stechford and its successor seat, Birmingham Hodge Hill, from 1979 to 2004. He was then Secretary General of the Council of Europe from 2004 to 2009. He is currently retired and is living in a nursing home in South Staffordshire.

Contents

Early life

He went to the King Edward VI Grammar School (now the King Edward VI College) in Stourbridge. Davis is a graduate of University College London, [2] where he gained an LLB degree in 1962, and University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, where he gained an MBA degree in 1962. He was a company executive from 1962 to 1971 for Esso, Clarks shoes and Chrysler Parts. From 1974 to 1979, he was a manager in the motor industry, with Leyland Cars.

Parliamentary career

At the 1970 general election, Davis stood unsuccessfully in the Conservative-held Bromsgrove constituency. The sitting MP, James Dance, died the following year, and Davis won the resulting by-election.

The Bromsgrove constituency was abolished in boundary changes for the February 1974 general election, and in the new Bromsgrove and Redditch constituency, Davis lost to the Conservative Hal Miller. He stood again at the October 1974 general election and lost again. At the 1979 election, his wife Anne contested the seat for Labour and lost by a much larger margin.

In 1977, Birmingham Stechford Labour MP, Roy Jenkins, was appointed President of the European Commission, and Davis was selected as the Labour candidate in the by-election. He lost by 1,949 votes to the Conservative Andrew MacKay, but at the 1979 general election, he won the seat with a majority of 1,649.

The Stechford constituency was abolished in boundary changes for the 1983 general election, and Davis was re-elected in the successor constituency of Birmingham Hodge Hill. He held that seat until his retirement from the House of Commons 21 years later.

In 2004 he was elected Secretary General of the Council of Europe, [2] and announced his intention to stand down from the UK parliament by applying for the Stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds. The resulting by-election was held on 15 July and won by Labour's Liam Byrne. He left the Council of Europe on 31 August 2009. He was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 2010 New Year Honours. [3]

Wikileaks "cablegate" revelations disclosed that the US, unhappy about his criticisms of the US's rendition program, regarded him as an "unpopular lame duck". However Davis has been speaking against the CIA and US government affairs as far back before his last year in his tenure. [4] [5]

Personal life

He married Anne Cooper in 1963. They have a son and daughter. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Forth</span> British politician (1944–2006)

Eric Forth was a British Conservative politician. He served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Birmingham North from 1979 to 1984. He then served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Worcestershire from 1983 to 1997. Finally, he served as MP for Bromley and Chislehurst from 1997 until his death in 2006.

Andrew James MacKay is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Stechford from 1977 to 1979, East Berkshire from 1983 to 1997 and for Bracknell in Berkshire from 1997 to 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Crausby</span> British politician

Sir David Anthony Crausby is a British Labour politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolton North East from 1997 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Grocott, Baron Grocott</span> British politician (born 1940)

Bruce Joseph Grocott, Baron Grocott is a British politician who has been a Member of the House of Lords since 2001. A member of the Labour Party, he served as a Member of Parliament for four terms between 1974 and 2001, representing constituencies in Staffordshire and Shropshire.

Richard Thain Alexander was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Newark in Nottinghamshire until losing his seat in the landslide of the 1997 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 Birmingham Hodge Hill by-election</span>

A by-election was held for the United Kingdom Parliament seat of Birmingham Hodge Hill, on 15 July 2004. The by-election was called following the resignation of Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP), Terry Davis, on 22 June 2004. Davis had been appointed as Secretary General of the Council of Europe. The by-election was held on the same day as the Leicester South by-election, which saw Labour lose the seat to the Liberal Democrats on a 21% swing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liam Byrne</span> British politician (born 1970)

Liam Dominic Byrne is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North, previously Birmingham Hodge Hill, since 2004. He served in Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Cabinet from 2008 to 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birmingham Hodge Hill (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983–2024

Birmingham Hodge Hill was a constituency of part of the city of Birmingham represented in the House of Commons by a member of the Labour Party since its creation and until its abolition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birmingham Yardley (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1918 onwards

Birmingham Yardley is a constituency of part of the city of Birmingham represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Jess Phillips of the Labour Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry West</span> Northern Ireland politician (1917–2004)

Henry William West was a Northern Irish unionist politician who served as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1974 until 1979.

Ioan Lyonel Evans was a British politician. He served as a Labour and Co-operative Member of Parliament (MP) from 1964 to 1970 and from 1974 until his death.

John Edward Tomlinson, Baron Tomlinson was a British Labour Co-operative politician. He served as a life peer in the House of Lords from 1998 until his death, and had previously been a Member of Parliament from 1974 to 1979, and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1984 to 1999.

Leslie John Huckfield is a British Labour politician who served as member of parliament (MP) for Nuneaton from 1967 to 1983 and as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1984 to 1989.

Eric Petro Deakins is a British Labour Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Walthamstow West from 1970 to February 1974, and Walthamstow from that election until 1987. He has also worked as an international public affairs consultant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanley Clinton-Davis, Baron Clinton-Davis</span> British politician (1928–2023)

Stanley Clinton Clinton-Davis, Baron Clinton-Davis, was a British politician and solicitor. A member of the Labour Party, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Hackney Central from 1970 to 1983, and was a minister in the Labour governments of Harold Wilson, James Callaghan and Tony Blair. He was European Commissioner in the Delors Commission (1985–1989). In 1990, he became a life peer, sitting on the Labour benches in the House of Lords until his retirement in 2018.

Terence William "Terry" Walker is a British Labour Party politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edith Pitt</span> British Conservative Party MP

Dame Edith Maud Pitt, was a British Conservative Party MP for the Birmingham Edgbaston seat. She had also sat on Birmingham City Council, and sought several Parliamentary seats before being placed in the Conservative safe seat of Edgbaston. When she died, she was succeeded by Jill Knight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1977 Birmingham Stechford by-election</span>

The 1977 Birmingham Stechford by-election, in Birmingham, on 31 March 1977 was held after Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Roy Jenkins resigned his seat following his appointment as President of the European Commission. A seat that had been solidly Labour since its formation in 1950, it was won by Andrew MacKay of the Conservative Party, before being regained by Labour in 1979. The by-election was noted for the strong performance of the National Front candidate and the presence of two far left candidates.

The 1973 Isle of Ely by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 26 July 1973 for the British House of Commons constituency of Isle of Ely.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1984 Cynon Valley by-election</span>

The 1984 Cynon Valley by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 3 May 1984 for the British House of Commons constituency of Cynon Valley.

References

  1. ↑ "Mr Terry Davis". Hansard. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "DAVIS, Rt Hon. Terence Anthony Gordon, (Terry)". Who Was Who (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2013.(subscription required)
  3. ↑ "No. 59282". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2009. p. 3.
  4. ↑ "We Cannot Allow Torture".
  5. ↑ Hirsch, Afua (17 December 2010). "US criticises court that may decide on Julian Assange extradition, WikiLeaks cables show". The Guardian.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Bromsgrove
1971–Feb 1974 		Constituency abolished
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Birmingham Stechford
1979–1983 		Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament for Birmingham Hodge Hill
1983–2004 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Secretary General of the Council of Europe
1 September 2004 – 31 August 2009		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.