Lawrence "Tom" Sawyer, Baron Sawyer (born 12 May 1943) is a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician. He was General Secretary of the Labour Party from 1994 to 1998.
Sawyer was educated at Dodmire School, Eastbourne Comprehensive School and Darlington Technical College.
After his education, Sawyer worked in engineering, before moving into trade unionism. He became a National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) Officer in 1971, becoming their Northern Regional Officer in 1975. In 1981, he was made Deputy General Secretary of NUPE and served through its merger to become UNISON until 1994. In this role he served as a National Executive Committee Member of the Labour Party between 1981 and 1994 and was made Chair of the Party in 1991.
In 1994, Sawyer became General Secretary of the Labour Party and led the Party successfully into the 1997 General Election. He stood down at the 1998 Party Conference and was created a Life Peer as Baron Sawyer, of Darlington in the County of Durham. He is now a director of several companies and public sector bodies.
In November 2004, it was announced that Lord Sawyer would become the next chancellor of the University of Teesside, replacing former Conservative MP and member of the European Commission, Leon Brittan.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jo Richardson |
Chair of the Labour Party 1990–1991 |
Succeeded by Tony Clarke |
| Preceded by Larry Whitty |
Labour Party General Secretary 1994–1998 |
Succeeded by Margaret McDonagh |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by Leon Brittan, Baron Brittan of Spennithorne |
Chancellor of the University of Teesside 2005–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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