Kevin McNamara (politician)

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Kevin McNamara, 2012

Joseph Kevin McNamara (born September 5, 1934 in Liverpool - † August 6, 2017 in Formby ) was a British politician and member of the Labor Party .

Life

McNamara was born in 1934 as one of four sons of Agnes and the sailor Patrick McNamara. He attended St. Mary's College in Crosby . He then began a law degree at the University of Hull . After graduation, he taught from 1958 at St. Mary's College in Kingston upon Hull and then from 1964 to 1966 law at Hull College of Commerce.

As a schoolboy he had already become a member of the Labor Party in 1951. In 1964 he ran for the Bridlington constituency in the general election , but could not prevail. In the by-election in 1966 he was then able to win the seat of the electoral district of Hull North in the House of Commons for his party . McNamara belonged to the left wing of his party. After his election he became parliamentary secretary to Economy Secretary Peter Shore , but was not reappointed in 1974 because of his radical views. From 1982 to 1987 he was defense spokesman and from 1987 to 1994 for Northern Ireland. In this role, he mainly campaigned for the reunification of Ireland. When Tony Blair took over the chairmanship of the party , McNamara's ambitious career came to an end. Blair replaced him as Northern Ireland spokesman. McNamara became spokesman for public administration and thus minister in Blair's shadow cabinet , but resigned after only one year in office because party leader Blair supported the continued separation of Ireland. McNamara was also disappointed with Blair's pro-business stance. McNamara was a staunch trade unionist and chaired the parliamentary group of the Transport and General Workers' Union for more than 30 years .

In 2005 McNamara retired. In 2007 he received his PhD from the Department of Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool on the MacBride Principles, a code of conduct for US companies doing business in Northern Ireland.

Private

McNamara was Roman Catholic. He had met his wife, Nora Jones, at the University of Hull. The couple had been married since 1960 and have four sons and a daughter. One son died in 2013.

Honors

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Obituary Kevin McNamara. In: The Guardian . August 8, 2017.
  2. ↑ Ex-Labor MP Kevin McNamara dies aged 82 after short illness. In: The Guardian. August 6, 2017.
  3. ↑ David McKittrick: Kevin McNamara, politician and advocate for Irish unity. In: The Independent . August 8, 2017.
  4. ^ Members of the Association of Papal Orders in Great Britain, accessed August 11, 2017.
personal data
SURNAME McNamara, Kevin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES McNamara, Joseph Kevin (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British politician
DATE OF BIRTH September 5, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH Liverpool
DATE OF DEATH August 6, 2017
Place of death Formby