Julian Priestley
Sir Julian Gordon Priestley was an English civil-servant who served as Secretary-General of the European Parliament 1997–2007. He was the second President of the Young European Federalists 1974–1976.
Biography
Born in Croydon, Priestley was educated at St Boniface's Catholic College, Plymouth, and Balliol College, Oxford, graduating in 1972 with an honours degree in philosophy, politics and economics. He was president of the Oxford Union, chairman of the Oxford University Labour Club and chairman of the Oxford Committee for Europe. In 1971, he was elected national chairman of Students for a United Europe, sharing the chairmanship with Carl Wright as they had been tied for first place in the election. From 1974 to 1976 he was president at European level of the Young European Federalists.Priestley stood three times in UK general elections for Labour in Plymouth.
Priestley was an Official of the European Parliament from 1973, first as Administrator, then Principal Administrator with the secretariat of the Committee on Budgets 1973–1983, chairman, Staff Committee of the European Parliament, Head of Division of the Committee on Energy, Research and Technology 1984–1987, Co-chairman of the Staff Regulations Committee of the EC, Director in the Directorate General of Committees and Interparliamentary Delegations, responsible for budgetary affairs and the single market 1987–1989, Secretary General, Socialist Group, European Parliament 1989–1994, Director, Private Office of the President of the European Parliament 1994–1997, and Secretary General, European Parliament from March 1997 until March 2007
The Secretariat of the European Parliament is the administration of the European Parliament headed by a Secretary-General. It is based in the Kirchberg district of Luxembourg and around the Brussels-Luxembourg Station in Brussels and employs 4000 officials. As Secretary General, Priestley was the most senior EU civil servant, and the most senior British one ever. Priestley was appointed Order of [St Michael and St George|Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George] in the 2007 Birthday Honours. He was asked to participate in the second Irish referendum campaign on the Lisbon Treaty. Priestley is the author of Six Battles That Shaped Europe's Parliament. He died of cancer on 22 April 2017, aged 66.
Priestley's impact on the European Union in general and the European Parliament in particular was subject to academic attention, notably an article by Martin Westlake describing him as a "consequential" civil servant.