The European Constitution

• Reference:GB 254 MS 420/29
• Dates of Creation:1981-2005
• Name of Creator:
  Sir William Nicoll
• Physical Description:
  1 folder

• Scope and Content

  The European Constitution in Perspective, Analysis and Review. Includes: Booklet from Ministery of Foreign Affairs, Brussels, 'Belgium and Human Rights', 1981 Booklet published by European Union 'Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union', 2000 Booklet published by the British-Swiss Steering Committee on Democracy and Decentralisation, 'Democracy and Decentralisation', 2003 Book by Gisela Stuart 'The Making of Europe's Constitution', 2003 Working document on the Constitution of the European Union, marked 'incomplete' by Nicoll, 1993 Booklet by The Federal Trust written by Sir David Edward, 'Thinking About Constitutions' 2005 Published report, 'Simplification of the Community Treaties', 1998 French book on the EU constitution, 2005 Annotated book by British Management Data Foundation, with handwritten note on the cover by 'John' dedicating the book to Nicoll, 'The European Constitution in Perspective', 2004

• Administrative / Biographical History

  Born in Dundee, Sir William Nicoll was an only child. Growing up in a tenement, his father was a joiner. He attended Morgan Academy, then won a scholarship to University College, Dundee, which was then part of the University of St Andrews.
  Nicoll passed the civil service exams and moved to London in 1949 to join the Board of Trade. Married Helen Morison in 1954, at the same time he became Editor of The Reel, a post he held in 1954 and 1955. The next year he was posted to Calcutta as trade commissioner, cutting short his editorship. Within ten years he had risen to become private secretary to Douglas Jay, the Labour heavyweight whom Harold Wilson had appointed president of the Board of Trade.
  From there Nicoll was seconded to the Foreign Office and served 20 years as one of the UK's senior men in Brussels. He became familiar with the French language and had a narrow escape from an IRA letter bomb while there.
  Nicoll rose to become Director General of the Council of the European Communities, and was knighted in 1992. In retirement, he lectured, edited the European Business Journal, wrote books on the European Union and advised candidate countries hoping to join it.
  Sir William was a lifelong teetotaller, and keen Scottish country dancer.

• Access Information

  Open for consultation subject to preservation requirements. Access must also conform to the restrictions of the Data Protection Act (2018), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, 2018) and any other relevant legislation or restrictions. Clinical information is closed for 100 years.

• Note

  Born in Dundee, Sir William Nicoll was an only child. Growing up in a tenement, his father was a joiner. He attended Morgan Academy, then won a scholarship to University College, Dundee, which was then part of the University of St Andrews.
  Nicoll passed the civil service exams and moved to London in 1949 to join the Board of Trade. Married Helen Morison in 1954, at the same time he became Editor of The Reel, a post he held in 1954 and 1955. The next year he was posted to Calcutta as trade commissioner, cutting short his editorship. Within ten years he had risen to become private secretary to Douglas Jay, the Labour heavyweight whom Harold Wilson had appointed president of the Board of Trade.
  From there Nicoll was seconded to the Foreign Office and served 20 years as one of the UK's senior men in Brussels. He became familiar with the French language and had a narrow escape from an IRA letter bomb while there.
  Nicoll rose to become Director General of the Council of the European Communities, and was knighted in 1992. In retirement, he lectured, edited the European Business Journal, wrote books on the European Union and advised candidate countries hoping to join it.
  Sir William was a lifelong teetotaller, and keen Scottish country dancer.

• Archivist's Note

  Description compiled by Joy Naomi Ramsay, Archives Volunteer, 16/04/2018

• Conditions Governing Use

  Reproduction is available subject to preservation requirements. Charges may be made for this service, and copyright and other restrictions may apply; please check with the Duty Archivist.

• Accruals

  Not expected

• Additional Information

  Published