John Monks

John Stephen Monks, Baron Monks (born 5 August 1945) is a Labour Co-operative member of the House of Lords and former trade unionist leader, who served as the General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in the UK from 1993 until 2003. He also served as the General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) from 2007 until 2011, having been made a Life peer in 2010.

The Right Honourable The Lord Monks
Member of the House of Lords
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 October 2010
General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress
In office 1993–2003
Preceded by	Norman Willis
Succeeded by	Brendan Barber
Deputy General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress
In office 1987–1993
Preceded by	Kenneth Graham
Succeeded by	Brendan Barber
Personal details
Born	5 August 1945 Blackley, Manchester, England
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour and Co-operative
Alma mater	University of Nottingham

Early life

Monks was born in Blackley, Manchester, and educated at Ducie Technical School in Moss Side. He studied Economic History at the University of Nottingham.

Career

From 1967 to 1969, he was a management trainee and junior manager with Plessey in Surrey.

TUC

He joined the TUC in 1969 and by 1977 was the head of the Organisation and Industrial Relations Department, and the Deputy General Secretary in 1987, leading to his election in 1993 as General Secretary.[1]

ETUC

He was General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, based in Brussels, between 2003 and 2011.[1]

Other Interests

Monks has also sat on numerous other bodies, including Acas from 1979 until 1995. In 2000, he agreed to chair the Co-operative Commission, reporting in 2001 with recommendations for the co-operative movement. He was also President of the British Airline Pilots Association. He was a non-executive director of Thompsons Solicitors between 2010 and 2019 and was a visiting professor at the University of Manchester. He is a vice – president of Justice for Colombia and of the Smith Institute, and President of the Involvement and Participation Association. Monks has honorary degrees from the universities of Nottingham, Salford, Manchester(UMIST), Cranfield, Cardiff, Southampton, Kingston and the Open University. He is also a Fellow of the City and Guilds of London Institute.

House of Lords

He took his seat in the House of Lords on 11 October 2010, having been created a life peer on 26 July 2010 as Baron Monks, of Blackley in the County of Greater Manchester.[2][3]

In August 2014, Monks was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.[4]

He was appointed a Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur (2014).

References

1. Stevenson, Alexander (2013). The Public Sector: Managing The Unmanageable. ISBN 978-0-7494-6777-7.
2. "No. 59502". The London Gazette. 29 July 2010. p. 14515.
3. Biography Lord Monks Archived 27 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine – official website of the UK Parliament
4. "Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories | Politics". The Guardian. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.

External links

• ETUC
• Guardian December 2002
• Guardian September 2002