Bruce George

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For the television personality, see Bruce "The Snake Buster" George.
Bruce George MP
Bruce George
Member of Parliament
for Walsall South
Incumbent
Assumed office 
28 February 1974
Preceded by Henry d'Avigdor-Goldsmid
Born 1 June 1942 (1942-06-01) (age 66)
Wales
Nationality British
Political party Labour

Bruce Thomas George (born June 1, 1942) British politician He is the Labour Member of Parliament for Walsall South.

Bruce George was born in Wales during World War II and was educated at the Mountain Ash Grammar School and the University of Wales, Swansea where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in political theory and government. He finished his education at the University of Warwick where he earned a master's degree in comparative politics. He became an assistant lecturer in social studies at the Glamorgan Polytechnic for two years in 1964. He lecturered in politics at the Manchester Polytechnic from 1968 until he became a senior politics lecturer at the Birmingham Polytechnic in 1970 until his election to Westminster. He was also a tutor with the Open University from 1970-3.

He unsuccessfully contested Southport at the 1970 General Election but was defeated by the sitting Conservative MP Ian Percival. He was elected to the House of Commons for Walsall South at the February 1974 General Election when he won the seat from the Conservative Henry d'Avigdor-Goldsmid by 1,580 votes, and has remained the MP there since.

He was a member of the defence select committee from 1979, becoming its chairman in 1997, and leaving the committee in 2005. He became a member of the Privy Council in 2001.

Although he has been an MP since 1974, and has never been on the frontbench. He is seen as a supporter of NATO and a strong military. In 2002 he was elected President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and was re-elected in 2003. Then between 2004 and June 2006 he was President Emeritus and Special Advisor on Mediterranean Affairs. He also regularly acts an election monitor, most recently in the disputed Presidential elections in Ukraine and Georgia.

He has been married to Lisa Toelle since 1992 and is Honorary Political Advisor to The Royal British Legion. In 1981 he was a visiting lecturer at the University of Essex. He is a supporter of Walsall F.C. and is the president of the Walsall Gilbert and Sullivan society, and a vice president of the Psoriasis Association.

[edit] Publications

  • Jane's NATO Handbook Edited by Bruce George, 1990, Jane's Information Group ISBN 0-7106-0598-6
  • Jane's NATO Handbook Edited by Bruce George, 1991, Jane's Information Group ISBN 0-7106-0976-0
  • The British Labour Party and Defence by Bruce George, 1992, Greenwood Press ISBN 0-275-94202-3
  • Worth Saving: The Story of the Staffordshire Regiment's Fight for Survival by Bruce George and Nick Ryan, 1996, Dalesman Publishing Company Ltd ISBN 1-85825-070-6
  • The Nazis by Bruce George, 1997, Bounty Books ISBN 1-85152-698-6
  • Private Security by Mark Button and Bruce George, 2000, Perpetuity Press Ltd ISBN 1-899287-70-1

[edit] External links