Behind the Scenes at the City Chambers. Eric Milligan.
Wed, Oct 12th 2016 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
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Our speaker was Eric Milligan a Labour Councillor for Edinburgh’s Sighthill / Gorgie Ward. He has spoken to the club before and was an honourary member in the past. He believes that luck plays a large part in our lives and considers he has been very lucky in life.
He was brought up in Gorgie and so it is no surprise he became an avid Hearts supporter. His Father was a trade union official.
In 1974 he was elected to Lothian Regional Council representing his home ward of Gorgie and has held this seat ever since. He became chairman of the Finance Department and was then elected as the last convener of Lothian Regional Council in 1990. He had his four-year term extended by a further two years because the regional council was about to be abolished. He subsequently became a member of the City of Edinburgh Council and was Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1996 to 2003, one of the longest-serving holders of the office.
He told us several amazing stories in a very humourous way all of which he said were quite true.
He has a long-standing love affair with Paris having visited many times over the years and was named an “Ambassador of the Auld Alliance” by civic leaders in the French capital.
He was in Zambia when F. W. de Klerk, then South African President, announced a proposal to abolish apartheid. The South African later came to Edinburgh and gave an address to Edinburgh University. Nelson Mandela also came to Edinburgh and was given the Freedom of the City, though he was slightly reluctant to accept this.
Having bonded with FBI director Robert Mueller at a gala dinner at the Prestonfield Hotel, he was received by the agency chief at his headquarters in Washington the following year. He was given a card containing a phone number to use if he is ever threatened. Mueller would have to find out if this threat had some connection with the fact Eric is a friend of the FBI.
The club’s vote of thanks was given by Theresa Douglas.
He was brought up in Gorgie and so it is no surprise he became an avid Hearts supporter. His Father was a trade union official.
In 1974 he was elected to Lothian Regional Council representing his home ward of Gorgie and has held this seat ever since. He became chairman of the Finance Department and was then elected as the last convener of Lothian Regional Council in 1990. He had his four-year term extended by a further two years because the regional council was about to be abolished. He subsequently became a member of the City of Edinburgh Council and was Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1996 to 2003, one of the longest-serving holders of the office.
He told us several amazing stories in a very humourous way all of which he said were quite true.
He has a long-standing love affair with Paris having visited many times over the years and was named an “Ambassador of the Auld Alliance” by civic leaders in the French capital.
He was in Zambia when F. W. de Klerk, then South African President, announced a proposal to abolish apartheid. The South African later came to Edinburgh and gave an address to Edinburgh University. Nelson Mandela also came to Edinburgh and was given the Freedom of the City, though he was slightly reluctant to accept this.
Having bonded with FBI director Robert Mueller at a gala dinner at the Prestonfield Hotel, he was received by the agency chief at his headquarters in Washington the following year. He was given a card containing a phone number to use if he is ever threatened. Mueller would have to find out if this threat had some connection with the fact Eric is a friend of the FBI.
The club’s vote of thanks was given by Theresa Douglas.
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