Michael McGowan (politician)
Michael McGowan | |
|---|---|
| Member of the European Parliament for Leeds | |
| In office 17 June 1984 – 10 June 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Derek Enright |
| Succeeded by | Constituency Abolished |
| Leeds City Councillor for University Ward | |
| In office 8 June 2001 – 2004 | |
| Preceded by | Maggie Giles-Hill |
| Succeeded by | Ward abolished |
| Leeds City Councillor for Beeston Ward | |
| In office 1980–1984 | |
| Preceded by | Ward created |
| Succeeded by | Jon Trickett |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael McGowan 19 May 1940 Birkenshaw, West Yorkshire |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Leicester University |
| Occupation | Journalist |
Michael McGowan (born 19 May 1940) is a British journalist and a former
European politics, Africa, peace, development, and human rights.[1] He is a Director of Leeds City Credit Union, and a Director of PAFRAS – Positive Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers, and until June 2009 was a National Executive Committee member of the Co-operative Party
.
Background
Michael McGowan was born in the village of Birkenshaw in the West Riding of Yorkshire. His father, Edgar, was a baker at Bradford Co-op bakery and his mother, Marion, a waitress.
McGowan was educated at Birkenshaw Primary school,
Leicester University
where he read History, philosophy, Politics, and Economics. He is married to Margarita and they have three grown up children, Joseph, Emily, and Sebastian. The couple live in Leeds.
Political career
Michael McGowan was elected a
Brighouse and Spenborough
in 1979.
A former
Television Centre, London, McGowan is a member of the National Union of Journalists.[2]
European parliament
In June 1984, having secured the nomination by defeating the sitting
African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States
.
McGowan has been a member of delegations to 37 African countries and was an EU
twinned with Leeds, which Nelson Mandela
visited and where he was made an honorary citizen.
Michael McGowan is the only British MEP to be elected President of the Development and Co-operation Committee of the
French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner
.
Journalist
In two
apartheid regime in both South Africa and Namibia, besides his work in the Middle East. The best tribute to the lives and families of the 270 victims of Lockerbie, including Bernt Carlsson, and the most positive action for the international community to take against terrorism, is to launch an independent inquiry into this gross act of mass murder. Nothing less will suffice."[3]
The second article by McGowan expressed the hope that Ireland would vote against ratifying the
Lisbon Treaty, thus frustrating Tony Blair's ambitions to become President of the European Council. McGowan, fearing that ratification would nonetheless go ahead, argued in favour of a different British candidate for the presidency: Chris Patten, "who has to be rated as one of the more heavyweight and internationally respected UK politicians of recent times. His experience as a UK Government Minister, as European Commissioner for External Affairs with responsibility for international development, and the last Governor of Hong Kong would make him a serious candidate. The appointment of Chris Patten as the first President of the European Union would be good for Britain, good for Europe and good for the developing world. It would also signal a determination that Britain intends to play a greater part at the heart of Europe."[4]
References
- ^ "European Parliament: Your MEPs". Retrieved 4 October 2009.
- ISBN 9780946358267. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
- Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
- Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 4 October 2009.