Lord Haslam, a one-time pit worker who rose to become chairman of British Coal, has died of cancer, aged 79.
A mining engineer by training, Robert Haslam held senior positions in leading companies including ICI and Tate&Lyle before succeeding Sir Iain MacGregor as chairman of British Steel in 1983. Three years later he followed MacGregor into the top job at British Coal.
Unlike the abrasive American, Haslam's main strengths were labour relations and marketing. Although his style might have been markedly different, Haslam was no less determined than his predecessor. During the 1984 miners' strike, Haslam was forthright in his condemnation of the National Union of Miners and paid tribute to the efforts of Ravenscraig steelworkers in keeping the plant operational despite the difficulties of being at the end of a road-bound supply chain.
Born in Bolton, Lancashire, the son of a painter and decorator, Haslam had won a scholarship to study geography at Cambridge, but failed the required Latin exam. He opted instead for Birmingham, only to find that the geography course was cancelled because of the war and chose to study geology, which eventually led to a first-class honours in mine engineering. From university he joined Manchester Collieries as a pit boy in 1944. He spent three years under ground before gaining his manager's certificate and this experience was to prove invaluable in later years.
Frustrated at not being promoted in the newly nationalised industry led by the National Coal Board, he joined ICI, where he rose to become a personnel director, then a board member, and deputy chairman, narrowly missing the chairmanship.
In 1956, with a crisis brewing over Egypt's announcement that it would not extend the Suez Canal Company's concession after expiration in 1959, he happened to be passing through Cairo airport and was arrested and thrown into jail, suspected of plotting to blow up the Aswan Dam. Officials did not initially believe
his explanation that ICI was involved in site clearance at the dam.
During his time at the chemical giant ICI, he became an explosives expert and acted as a consultant on the 1957 Oscar-winning film, The Bridge on the River Kwai.
Ill health meant he took the chairmanship of the British Steel Corporation part-time at first in 1983, guiding the
group through the worst effects of the miners' strike and returning it to profitability after years of losses.
At British Coal he continued with the controversial programme of pit closures but attempted at the same time to build bridges with miners defeated by the government of Margaret Thatcher.
Haslam was knighted in 1985 and created a life peer in 1990.
He is survived by his wife, two stepsons, and two sons by his first marriage.
Lord Haslam; born February 4, 1923, died November 2, 2002.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article