| Biography | Ernest Bevin was a British statesman, trade union leader and Labour Party politician. He cofounded and served as General Secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union from 1922 to 1940 and served as Minister of Labour and National Service in the wartime coalition government. He succeeded in maximising the British labour supply for both the armed services and domestic industrial production with a minimum of strikes and disruption.
His most important role came as Foreign Secretary in the post-war Labour government, 19451951. He secured Marshall Aid, strongly opposed communism and aided in the creation of NATO. Bevin was also instrumental to the founding of the Information Research Department (IRD), a secret propaganda wing of the British Foreign Office, which specialised in disinformation, anti-communism and pro-colonial propaganda. Bevin's tenure also saw the end of British rule in India and the independence of India and East and West Pakistan, as well as the end of the Mandate of Palestine and the creation of the State of Israel. |