Fred Mulley

Who was Fred Mulley?

Frederick William Mulley, Baron Mulley PC was a British Labour politician, barrister-at-law and economist.

Mulley attended Warwick School between 1929 and 1936. He served in the Worcestershire Regiment in the Second World War, reaching the rank of sergeant, but was captured in 1940 and spent five years as a prisoner of war in Germany. During this time he obtained a BSc in economics and became a chartered secretary.

At the end of the war, he received an adult scholarship to Christ Church, Oxford, and after a brief spell on an economics fellowship at the University of Cambridge he trained as a barrister, being called to the Bar in 1954.

Mulley had joined the Labour Party since 1936 and in 1945 he unsuccessfully contested the constituency of Sutton Coldfield. He became Member of Parliament for Sheffield Park in 1950, a position he held until retiring at the 1983 General Election.

During a long career in politics he held many ministerial positions including Minister of Aviation, Minister for Disarmament, and Minister of Transport. While at the Transport Ministry he believed it would be inappropriate to be seen to be a car driver. Although he owned an Austin Maxi, his wife was the sole user of it during this period.