Michael Cashman
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| Michael Cashman MEP | |
 Michael Cashman (right) with Ian McKellen at the Gay Rights March on Manchester in protest of Section 28 in 1988 |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1999 |
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| Born | 17 December 1950 |
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| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
| Domestic partner | Paul Cottingham |
| Profession | Actor |
Michael Cashman (born December 17, 1950 in London) is a former British actor, now a Labour politician. He has been a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands constituency since 1999.
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[edit] Acting
As a child actor is took on the role of Oliver Twist in the original run of Lionel Bart's Oliver! and he is possibly best known for his role as Colin Russell in BBC TV's EastEnders – a character famous for being the first gay man to kiss another man in a soap opera in the UK. He also appeared in the BBC drama serial The Sandbaggers and the Doctor Who story "Time-Flight".
[edit] Personal life
He is open about his homosexuality and regularly comments on government policy decisions relating to sexual orientation. He registered a civil partnership with Paul Cottingham, his partner of over twenty years, on 11 March 2006. He is also an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society and a Patron of The Food Chain, the London-based HIV charity.
[edit] Politics
In the European Parliament he is Labour spokesperson on human rights.
A member of the Civil Liberties Committee, Michael Cashman has been a rapporteur on several key initiatives including an important initiative on funerals of those who die in third countries - an issue he was motivated to act on after the death of his own father.
In the Petitions Committee, where he is first vice-chair, Michael Cashman has been working on the so-called Spanish Land Grab crisis.[1]
He is a trenchant critic of discrimination against minorities within the European Union. He has been leading a cross-party coalition to tackle the rise in homophobia throughout Europe. He has in the past supported the gay pride march in Warsaw, which he attended.[2] He is also the President of the European Parliament's Intergroup on gay and lesbian issues. Cashman is a member of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.
In 2007, in recognition of his efforts, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Staffordshire for his human rights work.[3] He was, on the same year, elected MEP of the Year for Justice and Fundamental Rights by his peers.[4]
[edit] Equity
He is the treasurer of Equity and led the campaign to obtain pension rights for members.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Michael Cashman's web site
- Michael Cashman on IMDb
- OpsRoom.org - The Sandbaggers information site
- Profile on European Parliament website
- European Parliament Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Rights
