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Aneurin Bevan

Aneurin Bevan

British politician


Dead at 62 years
Birthday
Monday
He is born 126 years, 5 months and 4 days ago
Death date
Wednesday

He is dead since 63 years, 9 months and 13 days

Cause of death: cancer

Birthplace
Tredegar, Wales
Nationality: british Royaume-Uni
Categorie
Politicians
Birth sign: Scorpio

Aneurin "Nye" Bevan PC (; Welsh: [aˈnəɨ.rɪn]; 15 November 1897 – 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour Party politician, noted for tenure as Minister of Health in Clement Attlee's government in which he spearheaded the creation of the British National Health Service. He is also known for his wider contribution to the founding of the British welfare state. He was first elected as MP for Ebbw Vale in 1929, and used his Parliamentary platform to make a number of influential criticisms of Winston Churchill and his government during the Second World War. Before entering Parliament, Bevan was involved in miners' union politics and was a leading figure in the 1926 general strike. Bevan is widely regarded as one of the most influential left-wing politicians in British history.

Raised in Monmouthshire by a Welsh working-class family, he was the son of a coal miner and left school at 14. Bevan first worked as a miner during his teens where he became involved in local miners' union politics. He was elected head of his Miners' Lodge when aged 19, where he frequently railed against management. He joined the Labour Party and attended Central Labour College in London. On his return to South Wales he struggled to find work, remaining unemployed for nearly three years before gaining employment as a union official, which led to him becoming a leading figure in the 1926 general strike.

In 1928, Bevan won a seat on Monmouthshire County Council and he was elected as the MP for Ebbw Vale the following year. He would serve as an MP for 31 years. In Parliament, he became a vocal critic of numerous other politicians from all parties, particularly Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George.

After the war, Bevan was chosen as the Minister of Health in Clement Attlee's new Labour government, becoming the youngest member of the cabinet at 47, with his remit also including housing. Inspired by the Tredegar Medical Aid Society in his hometown in South Wales, Bevan led the campaign for a National Health Service to provide medical care free at point-of-need across the UK, regardless of wealth. Despite resistance from opposition parties and the British Medical Association, the National Health Service Act 1946 was passed and launched in 1948, nationalising more than 2,500 hospitals within the United Kingdom.

Bevan was named Minister of Labour in 1951, but resigned after two months in office, when the Attlee government proposed the introduction of prescription charges for dental and vision care and decided to transfer funds from the National Insurance Fund to pay for rearmament. His influence waned after his departure, although a left-wing group (not under his control) within the party became known as "Bevanites". Attlee and Labour were ousted from power in a snap election held six months after Bevan's resignation, but Attlee continued on as Labour Party Leader. When Attlee retired from the leadership in 1955, Bevan unsuccessfully contested the party leadership with Hugh Gaitskell, but was appointed Shadow Colonial Secretary and later Shadow Foreign Secretary. In 1959, he was elected Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and held the post for a year until his death from stomach cancer at the age of 62.

Bevan's death in 1960 led to "an outpouring of national mourning". In 2004, more than 44 years after his death, he was voted first in a list of 100 Welsh Heroes, having been credited for his contribution to the founding of the welfare state in the UK.

Source : Wikipedia