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News
Catalogue of the papers of Geoffrey Finsberg (1926-1996) now available online|
Biography
Geoffrey Finsberg was born in 1926 into a devout Jewish family with Conservative political leanings. In 1949 he was elected as a Conservative member on the Hampstead Borough Council. He served as a councillor until 1974, joining Camden Borough Council when it merged with Hampstead in 1965 and becoming its Leader from 1968 to 1970. In 1970 he was elected MP for Hampstead.
In the 1940s Finsberg briefly worked for Lord Woolton who would rejuvenate the Conservative Party after their disastrous 1945 election defeat. Finsberg's local government career was infused with Woolton's ideas. He maintained close links with the people of Hampstead, he injected youth into an aging organisation by championing the Young Conservatives, becoming National Chairman from 1953 until 1957, and he also worked tirelessly to increase Conservative local government representation in London. Finsberg was also prominent at grass roots level, being a member of the Executive Committee of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations from 1953 until 1979.
In Parliament Finsberg served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Employment, the Department of the Environment and the Department of Health and Social Services. He was a member of the Council of Europe, being President from 1991 until 1992, and the Western European Union.
Main Areas of Interest
An important resource for the study of local politics and government, the collection holds interesting material concerning the governance of Hampstead and its local election campaigns. Also included are important papers concerning the workings of the Council of Europe and Western European Union during a time of much change in Europe.
Catalogue
A catalogue of this collection is available through the Archives Catalogue|.
Further information
Contact LSE Archives: Contact details|.