David A. Morse
David Morse (United States) spent twenty-two
years as Director-General of the ILO from 1948-1970, a period during which
the Organisation saw continual change. As he later recalled, "My task
was to rebuild an organisation which had run down during the Second World
War. It had survived, which was a feat, but it had not yet found a firm
footing in the post-war world." During this period, the membership of
the Organisation grew from 52 to 121 and the staff grew from about 600
to five times that number. The annual budget increased from about US $4
million to US $60 million. The work of the Organisation also took on new
dimensions: technical cooperation became a major and integral part of
ILO activities, a network of regional and field offices was set up and
programmes decentralised, education and training received new impetus,
and the International Institute for Labour Studies was established at
Geneva headquarters, and the International Training Centre in Turin was
set up in 1965.
In 1969, the World Employment Programme was
launched. Morse put a high priority on this programme, as in his view,
unemployment and underemployment were a major cause of poverty and a serious
obstacle to development. In developing countries, unemployment had reached
enormous proportions, and even when economic development had been judged
to be successful by such criteria as increase in gross national product,
it had failed to resolve the problem of creating productive employment
for the increasing labour force. The World Employment Programme represented
a first attempt at world-wide planning in the field of human resources
development and employment policy.
Other programmes that concentrated on protection
were also launched, for example, special procedures were established for
the promotion of human rights, and especially for freedom of association.
Major standards were adopted covering freedom of association and the right
to bargain collectively, equal remuneration, the abolition of forced labour,
discrimination in employment and indigenous and tribal peoples, while
principles and guidelines were adopted for the fight against apartheid.
Programme budgeting was introduced, Office units underwent a major reorganisation,
and the foundations for a new headquarters building were laid
The cold war and the process of decolonisation,
which brought in a large number of new States whose main preoccupation
was poverty, caused strains in the structures of the Organisation. Programmes
were adapted to new needs, and standards were made more flexible so that
they could remain universal. A dialogue was initiated to adapt the ILO's
constitutional structure to new demands, which led, ultimately, to a number
of constitutional amendments. Under Morse's leadership, the ILO continued
to carry out its essential work and emerged stronger than ever. Public
recognition of this was consecrated by the award of the Nobel Peace Prize
in 1969, when the ILO was celebrating its 50th anniversary.
David Morse was born in New York on 31 May
1907. He graduated from Rutgers University in 1929 and from the Harvard
Law School in 1932. He was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1932. He
later became Special Assistant to the United States Attorney General,
Chief Counsel of the Petroleum Labour Policy Board in the US Department
of the Interior, and Regional Attorney for the National Labour Relations
Board in the metropolitan area of New York.
When war broke out, he gave up his law practice
to join the army. From June 1943 to April 1944, David Morse served as
Captain in North Africa, Sicily and Italy, where he was appointed Chief
of the Labor Division of the Allied Military Government. He drafted and
put into effect the labour policy and programme in Sicily and Italy for
the British and United States Governments and armies. As Chief of the
Labor Section of the US Group Control Council for Germany under Generals
Eisenhower and Clay, he prepared the labour policy and programme for Germany.
Promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel, he was awarded the Legion of Merit for
his army services in 1946.
After his discharge from the army, Morse
was appointed General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. On
1 July 1946 President Truman named him Assistant Secretary of Labor and
Mr. Morse devoted his activities to the creation of the Department's programme
of international affairs. Mr. Morse had been a delegate to the ILO on
two occasions and served as the United States Government representative
on the Governing Body. In June 1948 he was named chief of the United States
delegation to the International Labour Conference. At the 105th
session of the Governing Body in San Francisco in June 1948, he was unanimously
elected Director-General for a ten-year term. He was unanimously re-elected
for five-year terms in May 1957, in March 1962, and in February 1967.
He resigned in February 1970. David Morse died in New York on 1 December
1990.
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