| The Right Honourable Terry Davis CMG PC |
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|---|---|
| Secretary General of the Council of Europe |
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| In office 1 September 2004 – 1 October 2009 |
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| Preceded by | Walter Schwimmer |
| Succeeded by | Thorbjørn Jagland |
| Member of Parliament for Birmingham Hodge Hill Birmingham Stechford (1979-1983) |
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| In office 3 May 1979 – 22 June 2004 |
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| Preceded by | Andrew MacKay |
| Succeeded by | Liam Byrne |
| Member of Parliament for Bromsgrove |
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| In office 27 May 1971 – 28 February 1974 |
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| Preceded by | James Dance |
| Succeeded by | Constituency Abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
| Alma mater | University College London |
Terence Anthony Gordon Davis CMG PC (born 5 January 1938), known as Terry Davis, is a British Labour Party politician, and former Member of Parliament (MP) for the Birmingham Hodge Hill constituency, and former Secretary General of the Council of Europe. He is a member of the Privy Council.
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He went to the King Edward VI Grammar School (now the King Edward VI College) in Stourbridge. Davis is a graduate of University College London, where he gained an LLB degree in 1962, and University of Michigan's School of Business, where he gained an MBA degree in 1962. He was a company executive from 1962-71 for Esso, Clarks shoes and Chrysler Parts. From 1974 to 1979, he was a Manager in the motor industry, with Leyland Cars.
At the 1970 general election, Davis stood unsuccessfully in the Conservative-held Bromsgrove constituency. However, the sitting MP, James Dance, died the following year, and Davis won the resulting by-election.
The Bromsgrove constituency was abolished in boundary changes for the February 1974 general election, and in the new Bromsgrove and Redditch constituency, Davis lost to the Conservative Hal Miller. He stood again at the October 1974 general election and lost again.
In 1977, Birmingham Stechford Labour MP, Roy Jenkins, was appointed as President of the European Commission, and Davis was selected as the Labour candidate in the by-election. He lost by 1,949 votes to the Conservative Andrew MacKay, but at the 1979 general election, he won the seat with a majority of 1,649.
The Stechford constituency was abolished in boundary changes for the 1983 general election, and Davis was re-elected in the successor constituency of Birmingham Hodge Hill. He held that seat until his retirement from the House of Commons 21 years later.
In June 2004 he was elected Secretary General of the Council of Europe and announced his intention to stand down from the UK parliament, by applying for the Stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds. The resulting by-election was held on 15 July and won by Labour's Liam Byrne. He left the Council of Europe on 31 August 2009. He was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 2010 New Year Honours.[1]
Wikileaks "cablegate" revelations disclosed that the US, unhappy about his criticisms of the US's rendition program, regarded him as an "unpopular lame duck".[2]
He married Anne Cooper in 1963. They have a son and daughter.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James Dance |
Member of Parliament for Bromsgrove 1971–Feb 1974 |
Constituency abolished |
| Preceded by Andrew MacKay |
Member of Parliament for Birmingham Stechford 1979–1983 |
Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Birmingham Hodge Hill 1983–2004 |
Succeeded by Liam Byrne |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Walter Schwimmer |
Secretary General of the Council of Europe 1 September 2004-31 August 2009 |
Succeeded by Thorbjørn Jagland |