Austen Albu

Austen Harry Albu (21 September 1903 – 23 November 1994)[1] was a British[2] Labour Member of Parliament for Edmonton.

Austen Albu
Minister of State for Economic Affairs
In office 27 January 1965 – 7 January 1967
Prime Minister	Harold Wilson
Preceded by	Anthony Crosland
Succeeded by	Thomas Urwin
Member of Parliament for Edmonton
In office 13 November 1948 – 28 February 1974
Preceded by	Evan Durbin
Succeeded by	Ted Graham
Personal details
Born	21 September 1903
Died	23 November 1994(1994-11-23) (aged 91)
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour Social Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	Marie Jahoda

Career

Austen first won the seat at a by-election in 1948, and held it until his retirement at the February 1974 general election. He is noted for heading the Governmental Subcommission of the British Control Commission for Germany during the Allied occupation after World War II. During his tenure, he advocated for a centrally planned economy for the country, particularly the Social Democratic approach.[3] From 1965 to 1967, he was the Minister of State for Economic Affairs. He later joined the Social Democratic Party.[4]

In 1958 he married the Anglo-Austrian social psychologist Marie Jahoda.[5]

He was also a writer with some essays, the most edited being Socialism and the study of man. He is also attributed as one of the authors of the New Fabian Essays.[6]

References

1. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "E" (part 1)
2. William D. Rubinstein, Michael Jolles, Hilary L. Rubinstein, The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History, Palgrave Macmillan (2011), p. 20
3. Hook, James C. Van (2004). Rebuilding Germany: The Creation of the Social Market Economy, 1945–1957. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 66. ISBN 0521833620.
4. Ivor Martin Crewe, Anthony Stephen King (1995). SDP: The Birth, Life and Death of the Social Democratic Party. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198280507.
5. Haines, Catharine M. C.; Stevens, Helen M. (2001). International Women in Science: A Biographical Dictionary to 1950. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-57607-090-1.
6. Laidler, Harry W. (4 July 2013). History of Socialism: An Historical Comparative Study of Socialism, Communism, Utopia. Oxon: Routledge. p. 865. ISBN 978-1-136-23143-8.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Austen Albu

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Evan Durbin	Member of Parliament for Edmonton 1948 – Feb. 1974	Succeeded by Ted Graham
Political offices
Preceded by Anthony Crosland	Minister of State for Economic Affairs 1965–1967	Succeeded by Thomas Urwin
Party political offices
Preceded by John Parker	Chairman of the Fabian Society 1953–1954	Succeeded by Harold Wilson