British Labour organizer and politician who led the international disarmament effort.
Henderson worked as an iron foundryman and became active in the trade-union movement. He helped establish the Labour Representation Committee in 1900, chaired the conference that formed the Labour Party in 1906, and served as party secretary from 1911 to 1934, building its organization and broadening its base. He was president of the Board of Education in 1915–16, home secretary in 1924, and foreign secretary from 1929 to 1931. Elected president of the League of Nations Disarmament Conference in 1932, he pursued international negotiations even as the conference ultimately failed; his work for peace and disarmament earned him the 1934 Nobel Peace Prize.
Activities and affiliations
- Political and party leadership · Labour Party (United Kingdom)
Career Timeline
- 1900Helped establish the Labour Representation Committee
- 1906Chaired the conference that formed the Labour Party
- 1911–1934Served as Labour Party secretary
- 1915–1916Served as president of the Board of Education
- 1924Served as home secretary
- 1929–1931Served as foreign secretary
- 1932Was elected president of the League of Nations Disarmament Conference
- 1934Received the Nobel Peace Prize