George Galloway

Vocation

Traits

Family

Scottish politician, a Member of Parliament beginning with the General Election on June 11, 1987. At the time, he was a representative of the Labour Party. Called "Gorgeous George" he is known for his taste in homes, cigars and in good-living. He is as much known for his acerbic wit, brilliant oratory, and blunt talk. Socialistic in his politics, he seems to raise eyebrows by his ideas and behavior. In 1987 he faced an investigation into his oversight of a charity named "War on Want." Galloway had been its general secretary for over four years, from 1982-1987, and responsible for its finances. Though exonerated, he volunteered to repay expenses that were under contention. He marched alongside Gerry Adams of Northern Ireland, as a protest against Britain's policy in Ireland. In January 1994 he praised Sadam Hussein for his "courage, strength and indefatigability" on TV. He says he was merely praising the Iraq people, not their leader. In 1998 he brought a little Iraqi girl suffering from leukemia to Glasgow for treatment. He claims it was an act of charity; his detractors labeled it a political public relations stunt. Galloway's ultra-left-wing politics and anti-war stance earned him the designation "honourable member for Baghdad North." Although Galloway campaigned against Saddam Hussein's regime in the 1970s and 1980s, he ws opposed to the sanctions imposed on Iraq in the 1990s because of the Iraqi deaths they caused. He is a harsh critic of the media, especially BBC, for "swallowing the case for war 'hook, line and sinker.'" He said Blair and Bush were "like wolves" in their attack on Iraq. In October 2003, claiming that Galloway's outspoken anti-Iraq-War oratory, had "incited foreign forces to rise up against the British troops," the Labour Party kicked him out. Galloway then established a new party, Respect. In the June 2005 elections his aim was to inflict damage on Tony Blair and the New Labour Party who supported the Iraq War, and his party was successful in earning seats in Parliament. In December 2004, he was awarded several hundred thousand dollars (150,000 pounds sterling) in libel damages from the Daily Telegraph which had printed articles the year before reporting that Galloway had received money from Saddam Hussein's regime. In 2005, Galloway was embroiled in the Oil for Food program scandal when it was alleged that he used the program for his own financial advantage. In his appearance on May 17, 2005 before the US Senate subcommittee investigating mismanagement of the program, he lambasted the US government for their role in the Iraq War and for their allegations against him. His impassioned rhetoric in counter-attack left many in Congress with egg on their faces. Galloway seems to have politics in his blood. Although he began his adult working life at the Michelin Tire Plant in Dundee, he early on became a Labour Party organizer. His gift for oratory and activism led him to become the chair of the Labour Party in Scotland in 1981; he was only age 26. Seven years later he was elected to the House of Commons for the first time. Since 2000, he has been married to a Palestinian-born woman, Dr. Amineh Abu-Zayyad, whom he met in 1991. She has not been happy over his reported dalliances with other women. In May 2005, she announced her intent to divorce him. In 2004 his book, "I'm Not the Only One," was published. Link to Wikipedia biography