Lord Triesman Obituary

The wide-ranging diverseness of nan employment and pursuits successful nan packed nationalist life of David Triesman, Lord Triesman, who has died aged 82, was fuelled by a visionary idealism he first displayed arsenic a teenage schoolboy and which he thereafter sustained passim a rollercoaster thrust successful sport, business and politics.

He began his moving life arsenic an academic, spent astir 2 decades arsenic a waste and acquisition national leader, ran nan Labour statement arsenic wide caput for 2 years successful nan troubled run-up to nan Iraq warfare from 200103 and past became a authorities curate successful nan House of Lords. A qualified elder shot referee who had played for Tottenham Hotspur’s younker squad successful nan 1960s, he served arsenic chair of nan Football Association from 2008 to 2010. He remained an progressive personnel of nan Lords and galore nationalist bodies, and successful 2011 founded his ain consultancy dealing successful spot and backstage equity.

In a missive he wrote from Labour’s office arsenic wide caput successful 2003, he sought to re-engage nan governmental committedness of disaffected statement members, aft nan early radiance of nan Blair authorities was dimmed pinch disillusion, by defining his ain lifelong fervour for a fairer world. It was this hunt for fairness that became his lodestar. He himself had been raised successful a governmental household, rattling pinch nan benignant of statement and intelligence statement that encouraged extremist thinking, and his profession acquisition had taught him to prosecute consensus. “I return a pridefulness successful making things work,” he said once.

Neither of his 2 astir precocious floor plan posts, astatine nan Labour statement and nan FA, was marked by awesome occurrence successful this respect and some were trim short. His occupation astatine nan apical of shot – which included chairmanship of England’s 2018 Fifa World Cup bid – came to an contiguous extremity pinch his enforced resignation successful 2010 erstwhile a newspaper sting secretly recorded him alleging bribery of referees by Spain and Russia successful nan run-up to that year’s World Cup.

Triesman pinch Charles Clarke, past chair of nan Labour party, successful 2001. Photograph: Peter J Jordan/PA

He had been brought successful antecedently to tally nan Labour party, chosen for his flair and productivity by nan past chair Charles Clarke, and had helped to stabilise statement finance and bolster waste and acquisition national support for an progressively beleaguered Tony Blair. But tensions emerged erstwhile Ian McCartney became chair successful 2003 and Triesman’s tenure was abbreviated by a operation of unfortunate individual publicity – it was revealed that he lived successful a location owned by an offshore spot successful financially advantageous circumstances that nan authorities had promised to abolish – and nan result of nan Brent East byelection that September, nan first Labour nonaccomplishment for 15 years, connected a humiliating 29% plaything against nan party.

He was calved successful Hitchin, Hertfordshire, and brought up successful a prefab successful northbound London wrong earshot of Spurs’ erstwhile location crushed astatine White Hart Lane. His parents were some Jewish communists: his father, Michael, an advertizing head for nan Daily Worker who became a head of a publishing business, and his mother, Rita (nee Lubran), a coach and actor. His begetter was of eastbound European extraction and his mother was French. David’s 2nd fixed sanction was to honour Maxim Gorky, nan Soviet socialist writer.

He was knowledgeable astatine nan Stationers’ Company’s schoolhouse successful Hornsey, joined nan Labour statement astatine 16 and worked successful publicity concisely earlier resuming his studies astatine nan University of Essex. He graduated pinch a BA successful accuracy and sociology successful 1968, nan twelvemonth of student gyration crossed Europe, by which clip he was already known arsenic a laminitis personnel of nan Radical Student Alliance, had been concisely suspended for his activities and acquired nan revolutionary students’ balanced of a badge of honour, an MI5 file. Between 1970 and 1976 he was a Communist statement member, aft which he rejoined Labour.

He took a master’s successful accuracy astatine King’s College, Cambridge, and from 1970 until 1974 worked arsenic a elder interrogator astatine nan Institute of Psychiatry, London University, studying addiction. He past made his first move into nan waste and acquisition national world, employed connected secondment astatine nan achromatic collar national nan ASTMS (Association of Scientific, Technical and Managerial Staffs), earlier returning to world activity arsenic a teacher and investigation head astatine nan South Bank Polytechnic (now London South Bank University) successful 1975. In 1984 he became nationalist negotiating caput for nan lecturers’ national Natfhe and successful 1993 moved to go wide caput of nan Association of University Teachers, until appointed to tally nan Labour party.

Triesman had go friends pinch Blair and was afloat supportive of his modernising leadership. Among nan bonds betwixt nan 2 was a emotion of euphony – some played nan electrical guitar – and Triesman helped to people a decade of Blair’s activity of nan statement successful 2004 pinch a jamming session, playing Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry. It was a measurement of nan truth that location had been nary superior falling retired betwixt them nan erstwhile twelvemonth erstwhile Triesman had agreed reluctantly to time off nan position of wide caput successful speech for an contiguous promotion to nan House of Lords and a authorities occupation successful nan whips’ office. He was besides a frontbench spokesperson until appointed inferior curate astatine nan Foreign Office successful 2005.

Triesman shaking hands pinch John Terry aft nan Chelsea v Portsmouth FA Cup last successful 2010. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

When Gordon Brown became premier minister successful 2007, Triesman was switched to nan Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills, pinch work for intelligence spot and quality. He was protector spokesperson connected business nether Ed Miliband from 2010 and for overseas affairs from 2011 until 2015.

He was celebrated astatine Westminster because he was charming, thoughtful and persuasive successful argument. He was besides regarded arsenic a man of integrity, winning wide praise successful 2011 for calling retired nan shortcomings successful shot erstwhile he testified earlier a parliamentary enquiry into shot governance. One insider successful nan athletics said of Triesman’s word astatine nan FA that he was “too straight, excessively honorable and excessively nice” to succeed.

He had a big of world awards and visiting fellowships. He besides accepted nationalist appointments dealing pinch education, affordable housing, business relations, finance and regulation.

Triesman is survived by his wife, Lucy Hooberman, a documentary film-maker, whom he joined successful 2004, and their daughter, Ilona.