Merlyn Rees

Merlyn Merlyn-Rees, Baron Merlyn-Rees, ( Rees; 18 December 1920 – 5 January 2006) was a British Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament from 1963 until 1992. He served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1974–1976) and Home Secretary (1976–1979).

Early life Rees was born in Cilfynydd, near Pontypridd, Glamorgan, the son of Levi Rees, a war veteran who moved from Wales to England to find work. He was educated at Harrow Weald Grammar School, Harrow, England and Goldsmiths College, London where he was president of the students' union. Goldsmiths was evacuated to Nottingham University early in the war, where Rees served in Nottingham University Air Squadron.

In 1941 Rees joined the Royal Air Force, becoming a squadron leader and earning the nickname "Dagwood". He served in Italy as operations and intelligence officer to No 324 Squadron under Group Captain W. G. G. Duncan Smith (father of the future Conservative leader). One of Rees's Spitfire pilots in Italy, Frank Cooper, became his Permanent Secretary at the Northern Ireland Office. Rees was Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Home Office, where James Callaghan was Home Secretary, from November 1968 until the June 1970 general election. The UVF was implicated in the 17 May 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings and the group was banned again by the British Government on 3 October 1975. Rees' decision to permit the Sunningdale power sharing arrangements to collapse in Northern Ireland was described as 'supine' by former SDLP leader, Seamus Mallon. Rees was almost assassinated by the IRA in July 1976. He was to travel to the Republic to consult with the Ambassador Christopher Ewart-Biggs and Irish ministers but postponed his trip after Margaret Thatcher refused to allow Northern Ireland ministers to pair their votes in House of Commons divisions. Rees wrote later that it seemed likely the IRA had known of his impending visit but were unaware of its cancellation. Ewart-Biggs and FCO official Judith Cooke died in a landmine explosion.

Rees later wrote of his experiences in Northern Ireland in Northern Ireland: a Personal Perspective. In September 1976 Rees was appointed Home Secretary and remained in that post until Labour's defeat in the 1979 UK elections. Rees was president of the Video Standards Council from 1990 and was the first Chancellor of the University of Glamorgan, a position he held from 1994 to 2002.

Personal life and death In 1949, Rees married Colleen Cleveley, and they had three sons.

Legacy Merlyn Rees Avenue in Morley, West Yorkshire is named after Rees. Merlyn Rees Community High School in Belle Isle, Leeds was named after Rees until its merger with Mathew Murray Comprehensive School in 2006 when it was renamed South Leeds High School.