View source for Ed Sweeney (trade unionist)

{{Short description|British trade union leader}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2017}}
'''Edward Sweeney''' (born 6 August 1954<ref name="debretts">"[http://www.debretts.com/people-of-today/profile/29904/Edward-(Ed)-SWEENEY) Ed Sweeney, Esq, CBE]", ''[[Debrett's People of Today]]''</ref>) is a former [[British people|British]] trade union leader.

Sweeney grew up in [[Kirkby]] in [[Lancashire]] (now [[Merseyside]]), where he attended St Kevin's Roman Catholic Comprehensive School (became [[All Saints Catholic High School, Kirkby]]).  He completed a degree in politics and law at the [[University of Warwick]], and a master's degree in industrial relations and labour law at the [[London School of Economics]].<ref name="gribben">Roland Gribben, "[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/5012816/Profile-Ed-Sweeney-chairman-Acas.html Profile: Ed Sweeney, chairman, Acas]", ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', 18 March 2009</ref>

On graduation, Sweeney found work as a Research Officer with the [[National Union of Bank Employees]].  This was renamed as the Banking Insurance Finance Union (BIFU), and Sweeney was elected as its Deputy General Secretary in 1991, then as General Secretary in 1996.  In 1999, he took it into a merger which formed [[UNIFI (trade union)|UNIFI]], and he won an election to become the new union's general secretary in 2000.  He negotiated a further merger which made the union part of [[Amicus (trade union)|Amicus]], and became its Deputy General Secretary.<ref name="leeds">[[University of Leeds]], "[https://lubswww.leeds.ac.uk/ceric/members/professor-ed-sweeney/ Professor Ed Sweeney]"</ref>

Sweeney was also active in the [[Trades Union Congress]] (TUC), serving on its [[General Council of the Trades Union Congress|General Council]] and Executive Committee.<ref name="leeds" />

In 2007, Sweeney became Chair of the [[Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service]], standing down from his trade union posts.  He also took up a visiting professorship at the [[University of Leeds]].<ref name="leeds" />  He retired in 2013, and was made a [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]].<ref name="debretts" />

==References==
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{{succession box|title=General Secretary of the [[Banking, Insurance and Finance Union]]|years=1996 &ndash; 1999|before=[[Leif Mills]]|after=''Position abolished''}}
{{succession box|title=General Secretary of [[UNIFI (trade union)|UNIFI]]|years=1999 &ndash; 2004|before=''New position''|after=''Position abolished''|with=[[Rory Murphy]]}}
{{succession box|title=Deputy General Secretary of [[Amicus (trade union)|Amicus]]|years=2004 &ndash; 2007|before=Lucy Anderson|after=''Position abolished''|with=Lucy Anderson (2004 &ndash; 2005)<br/>[[Tony Dubbins]] (2005 &ndash; 2007)<br/>Graham Goddard (2006 &ndash; 2007)}}
{{s-npo}}
{{succession box|title=Chair of [[Acas]]|years=2007 &ndash; 2013|before=[[Rita Donaghy]]|after=[[Brendan Barber]]}}
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[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Alumni of the London School of Economics]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Warwick]]
[[Category:British trade union leaders]]
[[Category:Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress]]
[[Category:People from Kirkby]]
[[Category:Academics of the University of Leeds]]