Sir Herbert Richard Nicholas OBE (13 March 1905 – 15 April 1997) was a trade unionist and political organiser.
He moved to London to become National Officer in 1940, and in 1956 rose to become Assistant General Secretary.
In the same year, he was elected to the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party, and from 1960 to 1964 he was the party treasurer, appointed in order to maximise trade union donations.
He took early retirement from the union in 1968 to become General Secretary of the Labour Party, having been offered the post by Harold Wilson after several other candidates refused the position.
[1] Nicholas was criticised after Labour lost the 1970 general election, and he stood down in 1972.