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Aneurin Bevan

Born 15 November 1897 in Tredegar, Wales
Died July 1960 in Chesham, England

Aneurin Bevan, often known as Nye Bevan, was a Welsh Labour Party politician who was the Minister for Health in the post-war Attlee ministry from 1945-51. The son of a coal miner, Bevan was a lifelong champion of social justice, the rights of working people and democratic socialism. He was a long-time Member of Parliament (MP), representing Ebbw Vale in South Wales for 31 years. He was one of the chief spokesmen for the Labour Party's left-wing, and of left-wing British thought generally. His most famous accomplishment came when, as Minister of Health, he spearheaded the establishment of the National Health Service, which was to provide medical care free at point-of-need to all Britons; regardless of wealth. He resigned when the Attlee government decided to transfer funds from the National Insurance Fund to pay for rearmament. The left-wing group within the party was described as "Bevanite" but he did not control it.

Born into a working-class family in South Wales, Bevan eventually emerged one of Wales' most revered politicians. In 2004, over forty years after his death, he was voted first in a list of 100 Welsh Heroes, having been credited for his contribution to the founding of the welfare state.

I read the newspapers avidly. It is my one form of continuous fiction

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