Henry Plum, the only British President of the European Parliament, has died at the age of 97.
The former Tory politician was President of the National Farmers’ Union from 1970 to 1979 and was elected MEP by the Cotswolds in 1979. He remained a Member of the European Parliament until 1999 and was its President from 1987 to 1989.
NFU President Minett Butters paid tribute after his death Friday. “British agriculture has lost one of its greatest defenders, and the NFU has lost its greatest president,” Butters said.
“There was no one more passionate about British agriculture than Lord Plum and he remained a great champion for the sector all his life. He worked with constant energy and determination to ensure that the importance of agriculture was recognized by politicians and continued to emphasize the importance of the sector throughout his stay in the House of Lords.
Plum was knighted in 1973, became Chancellor of Coventry University between 1995 and 2007, and retired from the House of Lords in 2017.
His family is from Cheshire and has been farming for several generations, with Plum taking over the management of his father’s predominantly dairy farm in Coleshill, Warwickshire, after his death in 1952.
Butters said: “He was a really remarkable man. He was devoted, fearless and the most charming man you could ever meet. His loss will be deeply felt and our sympathies are with his family in this sad time. “
Science Minister George Freeman tweeted that Plum was a “great man”, adding that it was “a pleasure and a privilege to work and get to know him in the 1990s”.
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