Tony Halmos
Anthony Michael Halmos (born 9 March 1952), known as Tony, is Director of Public Relations at the City of London Corporation and an advisor and contributing editor to Editorial Intelligence.[1]
Contents
Career
- 1973: Research associate, Templeton College, Oxford University
- 1978: Assistant organiser of organisation and industrial relations department, Trades Union Congress
- 1982: National organiser and local government officer, Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Democrats
- 1989: Associate director, public affairs, Hill and Knowlton
- 1994: Director of public relations, Corporation of London
Halmos “started his career as national organiser for the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Democrats between 1982-1998 and was Press Secretary to the then Leader of the Liberal Democrats, the Rt Hon Sir David Steel MP between 1987 and 1989”.[2]
Between 1989 and 1994 he was Associate Director in the Public Affairs section of Hill and Knowlton. During this time he was seconded to the Water Association where he was public affairs, press and information officer in the run up to privatisation of the industry. He was also seconded to Hong Kong where he was the Campaign Co-ordinator for the Honour Hong Kong Campaign for full British passports for Hong Kong people.[3]
In 1994 Halmos joined the Corporation of London, where he was responsible for promoting the City as the "world’s leading international financial centre and Europe’s financial capital.”[4] The City of London Corporation is the local authority for the City of London – the capital’s financial centre. It is run, as the Sunday Times put it (the year after Halmos was appointed), by an:
exclusive coterie of men who rule the City of London according to conventions laid down in medieval times... at least 21 of the 25 aldermen attended top public schools including Eton, Harrow, Charterhouse, Radley, Haileybury, Rugby and Stowe. They are drawn from some of the most prestigious City names, including Rothschilds and Linklaters & Paines. The City was the only local authority allowed to keep its aldermen when they were abolished elsewhere in 1972. Aldermen wine and dine regularly at the Mansion House, home of the lord mayor of London, and at Guildhall, the official headquarters. They rub shoulders with prime ministers and ministers, not only from Britain, but from abroad. Each alderman gets a turn as lord mayor, for which he is given the use of two Rolls-Royces, travel expenses and the right to live in the Mansion House . There are 230 lunches, dinners and banquets each year at the Mansion House, which has extensive wine cellars and 37 staff.[5]
When the Government threatened to abolish the City of London Corporation and merge the financial district with the surrounding local authorities, Halmos “dipped into his experience in public affairs and, in conjunction with the chairman of the policy and resources committee, engaged in a fierce campaign to guarantee the future of the authority.”[6]
Halmos was awarded a Fellowship by the Institute of Public Relations in May 2002 — the same time as EI’s Julia Hobsbawm and Dominic Fry.[7]
Policy world
Halmos took part in a Foreign Policy Centre meeting on UK-EU-China Policy Dialogue at the Treasury, Downing Street and Guildhall. Speakers included: Sir Michael Butler, Sir David Clementi (Chairman of Prudential), Lord Hannay of Chiswick, Charles Leadbeater, Mark Leonard, Sir Peter Middleton (Chairman of Barclays Bank). Participants included Nick Butler (BP), Peter Mandelson MP, Geoff Mulgan and Will Hutton. [8]
Affiliations
- Charles Lewington, friend
Notes
- ↑ "Advisors and Contributing Editors" Editorial Intelligence (accessed 7 October 2007)
- ↑ Congratulations to the Fellows:16 IPR Fellowships awarded at the IPR AGM on 2 May 2002 Institute for Public Relations 2002. Accessed 7th October 2007
- ↑ Congratulations to the Fellows:16 IPR Fellowships awarded at the IPR AGM on 2 May 2002 Institute for Public Relations 2002. Accessed 7th October 2007
- ↑ Congratulations to the Fellows:16 IPR Fellowships awarded at the IPR AGM on 2 May 2002 Institute for Public Relations 2002. Accessed 7th October 2007
- ↑ Shunned alderman takes on the City5 Mar 95, Sunday Times
- ↑ Sarah Robertson, ‘Profile: Political 'anorak' in the City - Tony Halmos, director of public relations, Corporation of London’, PR Week UK, 26 March 2004
- ↑ IPR Press Release, ‘16 IPR Fellowships awarded at the IPR AGM on 2 May 2002’, (accessed 29 August 2008)
- ↑ THE FOREIGN POLICY CENTRE/CHINESE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES UK-EU-CHINA POLICY DIALOGUE The Foreign Policy Centre. May 10th & 11th 2004. Accessed 7th October 2007
