Jim Percy

Jim Percy (born 1948, died Sydney, Australia, 12 October 1992) was a founder of the "Socialist Workers League" of Australia, later called the "Socialist Workers Party" and the "Democratic Socialist Party", and served as national secretary for almost twenty years.

Career

Percy first became active in politics as a high-school student in 1965, helping organize demonstrations against the Vietnam War.

In 1967 he helped to found the Socialist youth organisation "Resistance", based on members of the Sydney University Socialist Club and the Vietnam Action Campaign.

In 1969, Percy was elected to the initial five-member secretariat of the "Vietnam Moratorium Campaign" in Sydney. In 1972, he became a founder of the Socialist Workers League. He became the League's Organisation Secretary in 1972 and its National Secretary in 1973. Due to the influence of the U.S. Socialist Workers Party, the SWL later took the name Socialist Workers Party, and Percy continued as Secretary. The SWP is now the "Democratic Socialist Perspective".

Percy was central to the DSP becoming an Australia-wide party during the 1970s. In the 1980s, he oversaw a series of attempts by the Party to reach out to new forces and to group with other far-left organisations.

He died of cancer on October 12, 1992 at the age of forty-three.

References

* [http://www.greenleft.org.au/1992/76/2220 "Jim Percy, 1948-1992"] , obituary in "Green Left Weekly", issue 76 (21 October 1992)
*"Four Features of Our Revolutionary Party" by Jim Percy in "Socialist Worker", December 1982
*"Resistance: A History of the Democratic Socialist Party and Resistance: 1965-72" by John Percy (Resistance Books, Australia, 2005)
* [http://www.dsp.org.au/dsp/hist1.htm "History of the DSP" by John Percy] (accessed 16 July 2007)
* [http://members.optushome.com.au/spainter/GaffneyDSP.html "The Politics of the International Socialist Organisation and the Democratic Socialist Party" by Chris Gaffney] (accessed 16 July 2007)