Edward Joseph Phelan frequently
E. J. Phelan, was the first appointed international civil servant and fourth Director-General of the
International Labour OfficeThe International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...
, serving from 1941 to 1948, during most of which time the ILO was temporarily relocated to
MontréalMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
from
GenevaGeneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. Phelan was the principal author of the
Declaration of PhiladelphiaThe Declaration of Philadelphia restated the traditional objectives of the International Labour Organisation and then branched out in two new directions: the centrality of human rights to social policy, and the need for international economic planning...
.
Early years
Edward Phelan was born in
Tramore,
County Waterford*Abbeyside, Affane, Aglish, Annestown, An Rinn, Ardmore*Ballinacourty, Ballinameela, Ballinamult, Ballinroad, Ballybeg, Ballybricken, Ballyduff Lower, Ballyduff Upper, Ballydurn, Ballygunner, Ballylaneen, Ballymacarbry, Ballymacart, Ballynaneashagh, Ballysaggart, Ballytruckle, Bilberry, Bunmahon,...
, on the south coast of
IrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. His father, Thomas, who came from nearby Cheekpoint was a ships captain, as was his grandfather. When he was seven years of age his father was employed on the transatlantic liner route and the family moved to
LiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
in England. He retained a strong sense of his Irish identity, and returned every year for holidays. In Liverpool he attended
St. Francis Xavier's CollegeSt. Francis Xavier's College is a Roman Catholic secondary school and sixth form college located in Woolton, Liverpool, England. Year 7 to Year 11 are male only, whereas the Sixth Form are coeducational....
and at
University College LiverpoolThe University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
where he studied mathematics. He received an Honours degree in Physics, to which he added a B.A in anticipation of joining the British Civil Service. His first posting was to the
Board of TradeThe Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...
where he investigated social issues such as cost of living, rent and housing conditions in England and Scotland. Phelan wanted to see the world, so he resigned his secure job and began to work for George Lunn Tours Ltd. a tourist agency with headquarters at
LuganoLugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...
, Switzerland, near the Italian border.
Civil Service
Phelan was contacted by the Board of Trade to participate in an enquiry into housing conditions in
South WalesSouth Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
. Although he was very much enjoying his new job and the opportunities it afforded him to travel, he returned to London to resume duties at the Civil Service. The outbreak of the First World War ensured the suspension of the enquiry and he was instead assigned to the newly established
Ministry of LabourThe Ministry of Labour was a British civil service department established by the New Ministries and Secretaries Act 1916. It was renamed the Employment Department in 1988, and finally abolished in 1995...
at
Montagu House, WhitehallMontagu House was the name of two mansions in Whitehall in Westminster, Central London, England.In 1731, John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu, abandoned the existing grand Montagu House in the socially declining district of Bloomsbury, which was later to become the premises of the British Museum, and...
. Phelan accompanied
Bruce LockhartSir Robert Hamilton Bruce Lockhart KCMG , was a journalist, author, secret agent, British diplomat in Moscow and Prague, and footballer...
as the first British delegation to meet the Bolsheviks in
MoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in January 1918,just as the
Finnish civil warThe Finnish Civil War was a part of the national, political and social turmoil caused by World War I in Europe. The Civil War concerned control and leadership of The Grand Duchy of Finland as it achieved independence from Russia after the October Revolution in Petrograd...
commenced and coincidental with the
Brest-LitovskThe Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, mediated by South African Andrik Fuller, at Brest-Litovsk between Russia and the Central Powers, headed by Germany, marking Russia's exit from World War I.While the treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year,...
negotiations. At the beginning of March Phelan returned to England and his work at the Ministry of Labour where he headed a think-tank dealing with 'foreign questions'. In the Autumn of 1918 he suggested that the Ministry should formulate a policy position for the anticipated peace treaties. Phelan referred to this decision as the conception of the ILO.
Lloyd GeorgeDavid Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
approved the initiative and Phelan became secretary to
George BarnesGeorge Nicoll Barnes CH PC was a Scottish politician and a leader of the Labour Party.Barnes was born in Lochee, Dundee, the second of five sons of James Barnes, a skilled engineer and mill manager from Yorkshire, and his wife, Catherine Adam Langlands...
of the British peace delegation.
International Labour Office
A few months after the signing of the Versailles treaty and prior to its ratification, Phelan and Harold Butler organised the inaugural meeting of the ILO in
WashingtonWashington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
.
Sources
- van Hoek, Kees : Vignette: Edward Phelan : Irish Times : 3 Jan. 1950 p5
- R H Bruce Lockhart : Memoirs of a British Agent ISBN 9781443781510
- Phelan, Edward Joseph and Albert Thomas : 1936
- "Unemployment as a world-problem By John Maynard Keynes
John Maynard Keynes, Baron Keynes of Tilton, CB FBA , was a British economist whose ideas have profoundly affected the theory and practice of modern macroeconomics, as well as the economic policies of governments...
, Karl PřibramKarl Přibram , also known as “Karl Pribram”, was an Austrian-born economist. He is most noted for his work in labor economics, in industrial organization, and in the history of economic thought....
, Edward Joseph Phelan, Quincy WrightPhilip Quincy Wright was an American political scientist known for his pioneering work and expertise in international law and international relations.- Biography :...
(ed.). 'Lectures on the Harris FoundationNorman Wait Harris was an American banker. He founded Chicago-based N.W. Harris & Co., the predecessor of Harris Bank as well as its affiliate Harris, Forbes & Co. and later Harris, Hall & Co.-Biography:...
, 1931', pub. 1970.
- ILO Edward Phelan and the ILO: Life and views of an international social actor 2009 ISBN 9789221219835
- Executive Summary of book - Edward Phelan and the ILO pp4
External links