Sir Mark Henig (11 February 1911 – 30 January 1979) was a British politician and businessman, Lord Mayor of Leicester and the first chairman of the English Tourist Board.

Sir
Mark Henig
Born(1911-02-11)11 February 1911
Leicester, England
Died30 January 1979(1979-01-30) (aged 67)
ChildrenStanley Henig
RelativesSimon Henig (grandson)

Early life

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Mark Henig was born in Leicester on 11 February 1911.[1] He was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys.[1][2]

Career

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After leaving school, Henig went to work for his father's company, the Leicester wholesale textile distributors, Henig & Sons Limited, where he later became a director.[2]

Henig was elected as a Labour member to Leicester City Council in 1945, and remained one until 1970.[1] From 1949 to 1962, he was secretary and whip of the Labour group. In 1965, he became the leader of the group.[2] He was an alderman from 1958–70, and was High Bailiff in 1965.[1]

Henig was chairman of the Association of Municipal Corporations from 1966 to 1967, and of the East Midland Economic Council from 1968 to 1971.[1] Henig was Lord Mayor of Leicester from 1967 to 1968,[1][3] one of three Jewish men (the others being Sir Israel Hart and Cecil Harris) who had been mayor or lord mayor of Leicester.[4]

In 1969, Henig was appointed to the Royal Commission on the Constitution, headed by Lord Crowther and later Lord Kilbrandon which was set the task of examining the UK constitution. It produced a lengthy report four years later.[5]

In 1969, Henig was the first chairman of the English Tourist Board, a role in which he continued for ten years until his death in 1979.[1][3] He was twice president of the Leicester Hebrew Congregation, and a passionate supporter of Israel.[1]

Honours and awards

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He was knighted in 1965 for services to Leicester.[1]

Personal life

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His son, Stanley Henig, was a Labour MP and Lancaster council leader.[1] His grandson Simon Henig is also a Labour politician and in 2009 became the leader of Durham County Council.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j William D. Rubinstein (22 February 2011). The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 413. ISBN 978-0-230-31894-6.
  2. ^ a b c "Who's Who of Radical Leicester". Nednewitt. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Big role in Durham". Jewish Chronicle. 23 April 2009. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  4. ^ "A brief history of the community". Leicester Hebrew Congregation. Archived from the original on 4 April 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  5. ^ Stanley Henig (2002). Modernising Britain: Central, Devolved, Federal?. The Federal Trust for Education & Research. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-903403-13-6. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  6. ^ ANEC Vice Chair - Councillor Simon Henig Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine, Association of North East Councils, retrieved 10 April 2015