Bruce George

The Right Honourable  Bruce George  MP
Member of Parliament for Walsall South
Incumbent
Assumed office  28 February 1974
Preceded by	Henry d'Avigdor-Goldsmid
Majority	7,946 (22.5%)
Born	1 June 1942 (1942-06-01) (age 67) Wales, UK
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Lisa Toelle
Alma mater	University of Wales, Swansea

Bruce Thomas George (born 1 June 1942) is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Walsall South since 1974.

Bruce George was born in Wales in 1942 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 was an assistant lecturer in social studies at the Glamorgan Polytechnic from 1964-66. He lectured in politics at the Manchester Polytechnic from 1968 until he became a senior politics lecturer at the Birmingham Polytechnic in 1970. He left this post when he was elected to Parliament in 1974. 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 House of Commons Defence Select Committee from 1979 until 2005, serving as Chairman of the Committee from 1997-2005. He became a member of the Privy Council in 2001.

Although he has been an MP since 1974, he has never been on the frontbench. He is seen as a supporter of NATO and a strong military. He is Leader of the UK Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and was elected Vice President of the Assembly in November 2007. 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. 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. He is an 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 a Visiting Professor, University of Portsmouth, Institute of Criminal Justice Studies.

Publications

• The State of the Alliance Co-Authored by Bruce George, 1987, Westfield Press Inc, ISBN 0-8133-7404-9
• 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
• Military Lessons of the Gulf War Co-Authored by Bruce George, 1993, Greenhill Books, ISBN 1-85367-136-3
• 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
• Private Security by Mark Button and Bruce George, 2000, Perpetuity Press Ltd ISBN 1-899287-70-1

External links

• official site
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Bruce George MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Bruce George MP