Russell Frederick Bretherton

Russell Frederick Bretherton, CB (3 February 1906 – 11 January 1991), was a British economist, civil servant and amateur entomologist, particularly noted for his membership of the Spaak Committee in 1955.

A First in History was followed by a First in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE), and the Webb Medley Scholarship, the major university award open to a budding economist.

Partly overtaken by the war the volume was nevertheless widely received as a model of its kind which would exert a salutary influence on public policy for years to come.

At the time of the negotiations which eventually led to the Treaty of Rome in 1957, the UK Government was opposed to propositions which involved submerging any part of its sovereignty in new European political institutions.

The UK government was invited to join in the discussions but, given that it was not looking for a positive outcome, appointed as their representative not a politician, but a trade economist and civil servant, Russell Bretherton.

"[12] When Michael Charlton interviewed the then President of the Board of Trade, Sir Peter Thorneycroft, he commented "...he [Bretherton] was sent there with a brief not to commit this country to anything, which was the Cabinet's decision.

A detailed account of these momentous events can be found in Miriam Camps' 'Britain and the European Community 1955–1963' and some have subsequently argued that the Spaak Committee was the greatest missed opportunity of the UK's post-war history.

Bretherton was also a distinguished amateur entomologist who published more than 200 articles in the Journal of the British Entomology and Natural History Society, of which he was President in 1967–68 and subsequently Treasurer for a number of years.