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| Alcohol Abuse » Iconic Drinkers »Iconic Drinkers who were in Politics, law and business» Baron George Brown |
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Baron George Brown |
George Brown, also known as Baron George Brown was a British politician who was known for his aggressive style of politics and addiction to alcohol.
Life
Born on 1914, Brown left his school at 15 and started earning for his family. From the mid 1930's he actively participated in the Labor party and in 1945 general election Brown won the seat of Belper.
He first joined the ministry as Parliamentary Private Secretary bur then served as Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and later as the Minister of Works.
Later in 1960's he again became part of the ministry when Labor party formed the government. He was appointed to the Department of Economic Affairs and later in 1966 became the Foreign Secretary. in 1960, George Brown was elected as the Deputy leader of the Labor Party but couldn't become the leader when there was a voting between him and Harold Wilson.
Brown later joined the House of Lords and received life peerage becoming the Baron George Brown of Jevington. On June 1985, he died of cirrhosis of the liver.
Alcoholism and it's effects
Baron George Brown was notoriously known for his addiction to alcohol. When he stood for the challenge for the Party leadership, he was not favored by many for his alcoholism. Anthony Crosland called the leadership election "A choice between a crook (Wilson) and a drunk (Brown)". The problem was not publicized, but Brown caused great embarrassment for the party when he was invited on Associated-Rediffusion television to pay tribute to John F. Kennedy after his assassination. Brown came to the show after having heavy drinks at a a dinner in Shoreditch, and drank more while preparing to go on air. He had a row with actor Eli Wallach which became physical. When Brown went on air, viewers saw him interpret a fair question as an accusation of his having overstated his closeness. Then gave a tribute in a slurried and morose manner which proved beyond doubt that he was drunk. Brown was compelled to issue a public apology. This incident made of many Labour MPs against him and Wilson was easily elected.
In 1966, when Brown was the Foreign Secretary , Brown persuaded Wilson to apply for the entry at European Economic Community but Britain's application was vetoed by Charles de Gaulle. Having lost his face, Brown got dependent on alcohol more and used to make vituperative attacks . For example, he made abusive comments on the son of newspaper proprietor Cecil King. When Wilson asked for an explanation, Brown remarked that he had just had a terrible row with his wife and could not continue in Government. Brown's alcoholism was known to more people and there was a parody of a memo titled "Brown: F.O. Acts". The memo coined the phrase "tired and emotional" as a euphemism for drunk.
There was a popular rumor that Brown got drunk in an official reception in South America, asked the Archbishop of Montevideo to dance with him! However, there were evidences that Brown never made a tour to South America during his term.
In March 1967, when Wilson was looking for an urgent meeting with Brown, he could not found him and conducted the meeting without Brown. Brown was angry as Wilson did not try hard to find him and in the early hours of morning, went with other uninformed ministers to face down Wilson. Brown, who appeared very drunk, incoherently shouted at Wilson, who was almost as angry and stood up for himself. At the end of the meeting Brown stormed out.
Brown did not apologize and at 6 o'clock that evening he sent a letter which said "I think it better that we should part company" but did not mention "resignation". Wilson decided to reply by accepting Brown's resignation but also sent a message saying that Brown had half an hour to say whether the letter had been misinterpreted. Brown did not make any response and got out of the ministry, but not in a disgraceful manner.
In 1976, Baron George Brown decided to leave the Labor Party in protest of the government decision. However, when he made the announcement to the reporters he collapsed and fall into the gutter only to be rescued by the reporters. It was presumed that he was under the influence of alcohol and ultimately the alcohol abuse took a toll on his health. He suffered from cirrhosis of the liver and breathed his last on June 1985.
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