Bevin, Ernest (1881-1951), rose from a job as a truck driver to become a British labor leader and a member of the Cabinet. He served as minister of labor under Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill during World War II (1939-1945). Prime Minister Clement Attlee made him foreign minister in 1945. He first won fame in 1920, when he obtained a standard wage for dockworkers. Two years later, he united 32 unions into the Transport and General Workers’ Union. He was elected chairman of the Trades Union Congress in 1936, the highest honor possible in British labor circles. He was born in Winsford, Somerset.
