Jonathan Edward Baume was General Secretary of the Food and Drug Administration from 1997 until 2012 and a member of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress from 2001 to 2012.
Education
He was educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield, and, Oxford (Bachelor Honours 1974. Master of Arts). While at university, he was active in student politics as a member of the International Socialists and then the Trotskyist International Marxist Group, the British section of the Fourth International.
Career
Oxfordshire County Council, 1974-1977
Department of Employment Group, 1977-1987
Trades Union Congress (Organisation and Industrial Relations Department), 1987-1989
Food and Drug Administration: Assistant General Secretary, 1989-1994. Deputy General Secretary, 1994-1997
Following the announcement of Elizabeth Symons" resignation as General Secretary, the Food and Drug Administration National Executive interviewed several candidates to replace her and agreed to propose Baume as her successor. However, former Food and Drug Administration member Tony Engel (who had not been a candidate) demanded a ballot of the whole membership to decide between himself and Baume who then received 68% of the votes cast.
Jonathan Baume retired from the role of Food and Drug Administration General Secretary in late 2012.
He has served on three y groups:
Ministerial Advisory Group on Openness in the Public Sector 1998-1999
Ministerial Advisory Group on Implementation of the Freedom of Information Acting 2001–present
Age Advisory Group, Department of Trade and Industry 2004–present
His other hobbies are jazz, world music and rambling.
Membership
He was appointed as a Civil Service Commissioner in April 2012 and is a Council member of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas). While at university, he was active in student politics as a member of the International Socialists and then the Trotskyist International Marxist Group, the British section of the Fourth International. He is a member of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England and the National Trust, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
He is a member of the Athenaeum Club.