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George Brown

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Politician

The Resume

    (September 2, 1914-June 2, 1985)
    Born in London, United Kingdom
    Organizer for the Transport and General Workers Union
    Member of Parliament for Belper (1945-70)
    Deputy Leader of the Labour Party (1960-70)
    Secretary of Economic Affairs (1964-66)
    Foreign Secretary (1966-68)

Why he might be annoying:

    He launched an attempt to replace Clement Attlee as Prime Minister with Ernest Bevin that petered out when Bevin, who Brown had not bothered to consult, opposed it (1947).
    He was noticeably drunk when he appeared on TV in a tribute to John F. Kennedy after his assassination. (And while waiting in the green room before going on air, he instigated an argument with actor Eli Wallach that turned physical.)
    He was a remarkably undiplomatic Foreign Secretary.
    He responded to an ambassador's 'Welcome to my embassy' greeting with 'It's not your bloody embassy, it's mine.'
    At the end of banquest hosted by the Belgian government, he said, 'While you have all been wining and dining here tonight, who has been defending Europe? I'll tell you who -- the British army. And where, you may ask, are the soldiers of the Belgian army tonight? I'll tell you where they are. They're in the brothels of Brussels!'
    When he titled his memoirs 'In My Way,' Prime Minister Harold Wilson quipped, 'That's where I always found him.'
    His announcement that he was leaving the Labour Party in protest was overshadowed when he drunkenly fell into a gutter and had to be helped out by reporters (1976).

Why he might not be annoying:

    His father was a truck driver who was blacklisted for organizing a union.
    He was an energetic campaigner and was frequently sent to prop up Labour candidates in tight races.
    The Times declared, 'George Brown drunk is a better man than the Prime Minister sober.'
    He observed, 'Many Members of Parliament drink and womanize. Now, I've never womanized.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 83 Votes: 62.65% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 11 Votes: 81.82% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 9 Votes: 77.78% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 83 Votes: 43.37% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 12 Votes: 58.33% Annoying