Kinnock, Neil Gordon (1942-…), served as leader of the United Kingdom’s Labour Party from 1983 to 1992. From 1995 to 2004, Kinnock served on the European Commission, a governing body of the European Union. In 2005, he was created Baron Kinnock of Bedwellty and began serving in the House of Lords.
Kinnock was born on March 28, 1942, in the village of Tredegar in southern Wales. His father was a coal miner. Kinnock joined the Labour Party in 1957. In 1965, he graduated from the University of Wales, Cardiff.
Kinnock was first elected to the House of Commons in 1970. There, he became known for his dramatic speeches. Kinnock was elected to succeed Michael Foot as Labour Party leader in 1983, and he began transforming Labour into a more moderate party. Kinnock helped to increase Labour’s share of the vote in the 1987 parliamentary elections. He resigned as the party’s leader after it lost elections in 1992. He left the House of Commons in 1995 to become a member of the European Commission.
