Bruce Millan

Bruce Millan (5 October 1927 – 21 February 2013) was a British Labour politician who served as a European Commissioner from 1989 to 1995.

The Right Honourable Bruce Millan HonFRSE
Official portrait, 1992
European Commissioner for Regional Policy
In office 6 January 1989 – 23 January 1995
President	Jacques Delors
Preceded by	Grigoris Varfis
Succeeded by	Monika Wulf-Mathies
Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
In office 4 May 1979 – 31 October 1983
Leader	James Callaghan Michael Foot
Preceded by	Teddy Taylor
Succeeded by	Donald Dewar
Secretary of State for Scotland
In office 8 April 1976 – 4 May 1979
Prime Minister	James Callaghan
Preceded by	Willie Ross
Succeeded by	George Younger
Member of Parliament for Glasgow Govan
In office 9 June 1983 – 18 October 1988
Preceded by	Andrew McMahon
Succeeded by	Jim Sillars
Member of Parliament for Glasgow Craigton
In office 8 October 1959 – 9 June 1983
Preceded by	Jack Browne
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	(1927-10-05)5 October 1927 Dundee, Scotland
Died	21 February 2013(2013-02-21) (aged 85) Glasgow, Scotland
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Gwendoline Fairey ​ (m. 1953)​
Children	2
Education	Harris Academy
Profession	Chartered accountant

Early life

Bruce Millan was born in Dundee, the son of a shipyard caulker and a jute weaver, and educated at Harris Academy in the city.^[1] He was active in the Labour League of Youth while at school, and after it he undertook his national service with the Royal Corps of Signals while studying at the same time for accountancy examinations.^[2] He became a chartered accountant in 1950.^[3]

Millan married Gwendoline May Fairey on 22 August 1953. The couple had a son and a daughter.^[2]

Parliamentary career

Millan unsuccessfully contested West Renfrewshire in the 1951 general election and Glasgow Craigton in that of 1955.

He was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Craigton at the 1959 general election and served for that seat, and after its abolition in 1983 for Glasgow Govan, until 1988.^[4] He served in the Wilson government of 1964–1970 as Under-Secretary of State for the Air Force from 1964 to 1966, as Under-Secretary of State for Scotland from 1966 to 1970, and in the Callaghan government of 1976–1979 as Secretary of State for Scotland;^[5][6]: 47 he subsequently served as Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland under new leader Michael Foot. At the time of the 1981 Labour Party Shadow Cabinet election, the first time Millan won election to the Shadow Cabinet, he was described by The Glasgow Herald as being identified with the "Centre-to-right" of the Labour Party.^[7]

After Parliament

Millan left Parliament in 1988, by applying for the Chiltern Hundreds, in order to take up the post of European Commissioner for Regional Policy and Cohesion, which he held until 1995.^[5] The vacancy he left was filled by Jim Sillars of the SNP in the noteworthy Glasgow Govan by-election of 1988.^[8]

In 1991, Millan received an honorary doctorate from Heriot-Watt University.^[9]

Between 1999 and 2001 he chaired the Millan Committee, which proposed reforms to the provision of mental health care in Scotland.^{[5][8][10]: 91}