Keith Porteous Wood (born 1948) is the Executive Director, formerly General Secretary, of the National Secular Society in the United Kingdom, a position he has held since 1996.
In 2007 he received the Distinguished Service to Humanism Award from the International Humanist and Ethical Union for his work in building up the National Secular Society and campaigning for secularism both nationally and internationally.[1]
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Before his appointment as National Secular Society General Secretary in 1996, Wood had been director of finance for companies in the wholesale and retail food distribution, financial services and insurance sectors.[2]
Wood is in a civil partnership with Terry Sanderson, the president of the National Secular Society. They had been together for over two decades before civil partnerships were introduced in 2005, and they entered into a civil partnership in 2006.[3]
In 1996, Wood was appointed General Secretary of the National Secular Society, following the retirement of Terry Mullins (who had held the post since 1979). Describing him as a "radical campaigner in a business suit", Peter Brearey, then editor of The Freethinker, welcomed Wood's appointment, noting his campaigning track record and background of "25 years in senior managerial and professional roles covering administration, accounting, legal and company secretarial issues."[4]
As an international representative of the International Humanist and Ethical Union, he has criticized the activities of the Holy See within the United Nations system and accused the Vatican of not fulfilling its political obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.[5]