Famous Politicians with Disabilities

Politicians with Disabilities

David Blunkett

disability: blind

Politics: right-wing New Labour (Blairite)

An arch-Blairite, he was the Home Secretary at the turn of the century, until 2004.

Was the Education Secretary in Tony Blair's government who was largely responsible for the introduction of university tuition fees and the axing of the student grant. Currently the Home Secretary, involved in drafting numerous controversial, often right-wing, pieces of legislation. Not at all liked by the left, ourselves included !

Websites:

Julius Caesar

disability: epilepsy (source: German Epilepsy Museum)

Famous Roman emperor

Websites:

Winston Churchill

disability: lisp (source: The Churchill Centre FAQs)

Was Prime Minister of the UK during World War II.
Often seen as a war hero, yet in peace time he was mostly a right-wing Tory b*****d.

Websites:

Ken Coates

Disabilities:

slightly deaf
diabetic

Politics: Socialist, was in the Socialist Alliance

Was a Labour Party MEP, before being expelled from the party for opposing Tony Blair by voting against cuts in benefits for single parents and disabled people.
Was a leading figure in the Alternative Labour Group and the Independent Labour Network.
Was a prominent member of the North Derbyshire Socialist Alliance - which has now merged into the Derbyshire Respect Coalition
Was involved in the anti-Balkan War campaign, against the bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999.

William Cuffay

Disability: slight walking disability

Politics: left-wing revolutionary

One of the leaders of the Chartist movement of the early 19th century, the first working-class political movement in the UK.

William Cuffay profile on Spartacus Schoolnet
William Cuffay on The Black Presence in Britain website

Vic Finkelstein

disability: uses a wheelchair

Politics: left wing

Vic Finkelstein was a pioneer of the disability rights movement in the UK, being one of the pioneers of the Social Model of Disability.
For a history of how he became active in disability politics, read A Personal Journey Into Disability Politics, written by Finkelstein in 2001.
A list of links to many of Vic Finkelstein's writings on disability

Antonio Gramsci

disability: spinal deformity ("hunch back") (source: Antonio Gramsci by Lloyd Spencer)
Politics: Italian revolutionary socialist

Websites:

Ernesto Che Guevara

Disability: asthma

Politics: left-wing revolutionary

A leading figure in the Cuban revolution.
Also involved in revolutionary activities in several Latin American countries and even Africa.
His books and left-wing political beliefs make him an inspiration to many revolutionaries even today.

Websites:

El Comandante Che Guevara
Che Lives
Che Guevara and the Spirit of Revolution (SWP viewpoint)

David Icke

Disability: arthritis (source: Isle of Wight County Press article)

Politics: started as an ecologist, now an increasingly bizarre conspiracy theorist.

Was a leading member of the Green Party from the late 1980s until the early 1990s.

Read more about him and his - increasingly bizarre - beliefs at www.davidicke.com

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

disability: epilepsy (source: Disease lists (sic))
politics: revolutionary communist
instrumental in the 1917 Russian Revolution, and continued to rule the USSR until 1922
presided over (arguably) the only true socialist society the world has ever seen.
one of the great Marxist theorists, his writings are still followed by several socialist groups, including the UK Socialist Workers Party

Websites

Rosa Luxemburg

Disability: slight limp (source: Rosa Luxemburg biography)

politics: German revolutionary socialist

Websites:

Peter The Great

Russian Czar

Disability: asthma (source: ibreathe famous people with asthma)

Politics: Royal (and right-wing with it ...)

lived: 1672 - 1725

Peter The Great played an important part in creating the conditions for the development of Western Capitalism in Russia.

Royalists often seem to believe that Royals are in some way "a race apart" from the rest of us.
This is not true - they are no different from, and no more able to rule than, the rest of us - except that they are in power because their families have been in power for generations before them.
Indeed, some Royals have had disabilities - such as the Russian Czar, Peter the Great (as his followers modestly call him).
In my opinion, all Royals - even disabled Royals - should be done away with !

Franklin D Roosevelt

Disability: movement-related disabilities, resulting from Polio (source: US Dreams profile of Roosevelt)

Politics: slightly left-wing reformist

Ex USA President (was President for 3 terms)
Democratic Party

Started as a moderate reformist, but was too reformist for the US Establishment and big business who "pulled out" their support for him.
Survived as President by appealing more to the Working Class, by becoming more reformist.
Ironically, he kept his disability, largely, a secret as he feared - if it became public knowledge - it would endanger his position as President. Which is a great shame, considering he was one of the USA's better Presidents (in my opinion).

Websites:

Pat Stack

Disability: movement disabled, uses a wheelchair, resulting from Thalidomide pregnancy

Politics: left-wing revolutionary, was part of the Socialist Workers Party's organizing committee.

Unlike Roosevelt, Pat Stack does not keep his disability hidden.

As well as having a brilliant political understanding, he is a great speaker and does several meetings every year at Marxism (the SWP's "summer school") in London.

Wrote the "Stack On The Back" article in Socialist Review, the SWP's monthly magazine, from the 1980s until late 2004.

Harriet Tubman

Disability: narcolepsy (source: Famous People profile of Harriet Tubman)

Abolitionist of slavery(1830-1913)

As a child she was struck by an overseer. The blow fractured her skull and resulted in narcolepsy for the rest of her life.

She rescued hundreds of slaves on the underground railroad.

George Washington

disability: learning disability (source: LDANL Famous People with Learning Disabilities)

The first President of the USA.

Had a learning disability. He could barely write and had very poor grammar skills.

Biography of George Washington

Other political activists

Helen Keller

disability: deaf and blind

Most famous as a deaf-blind teacher, Helen Keller was also an active socialist. For more details, read The Socialist Legacy of Helen Keller.

Links:

Heather Mills

Disability: Amputee, left leg amputated

Has campaigned for animal rights and vegetarianism, and against landmines, seal hunting and the fur trade.

A former glamour model.

Has appeared on BBC TV's Celebrity Come Dancing.

Links:

Other famous disabled people have been known for their left-wing or socialist viewpoints, eg the scientist Albert Einstein, and the science-fiction author H.G.Wells.

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