The Commonwealth Trade Union Council (CTUC) was first proposed at the Commonwealth Trade Union Conference in June 1979. A special working party was set up and their proposals were agreed by the Commonwealth Unions in November 1979 with the CTUC formally established in March 1980. The CTUC aimed to strengthen links between trade unions in the Commonwealth and to provide practical assistance to trade unions in developing countries. Dennis McDermott, President of the Canadian Labour Congress was elected President and Carl Wright was appointed Director. Patrick Quinn took over as Director of the CTUC, August 1988 and Arthur Johnstone became Director in 1994. The executive body of the CTUC was its Steering Subcommittee, which included trade union leaders from the United Kingdom and Mediterranean, Canada, Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Australasia and the Pacific. On 31 December 2004 the CTUC wound up and a new association, the Commonwealth Trade Union Group (CTUG) was formed.