Alec Douglas-Home, Lord Home
(1903–95).Prime minister. Douglas‐Home succeeded to the earldom in 1951 but relinquished it in 1963 to re‐enter the Commons as prime minister, in succession to Harold Macmillan. In 1974 he returned ...
Conservative Party
The less reformist of the (normally) two main parties in British politics. It has a longer history than any other political party, perhaps anywhere, with an institutional continuity under that name ...
Douglas Hurd
(b. Marlborough, Wiltshire, 8 Mar. 1930)British; Home Secretary 1985–9, Foreign Secretary 1989–95; Baron (life peer) 1997 Hurd came from a political family; his father and grandfather had both been ...
Elizabeth II
1926– )Queen of the United Kingdom and head of the Commonwealth (1952– ).Eldest daughter of the future George VI, Elizabeth was privately educated and in World War II served briefly in the ATS ...
Enoch Powell
(b. Birmingham, 15 June 1912; d. London, 8 Feb. 1998)British; Minister of Health 1960–3 Powell's parents were teachers in Birmingham. He was educated at King Edward School, Birmingham, and Trinity ...
European Economic Community
The European common market set up in 1957 by the six member states of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC); i.e. Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands. At the ...
Francis Leslie Pym
(b. Abergavenny, 13 Feb. 1922; d. Everton Park, Sandy, Bedfordshire, 7 March 2008)British; Defence Secretary 1979–81, Foreign Secretary 1982–3; Baron (life peer) 1987 The son of a Conservative MP, ...
Geoffrey Howe
(b. Glamorgan, 20 Dec. 1926)British; Chancellor of the Exchequer 1979–83, Foreign Secretary 1983–9; Kt. 1970, Baron (life peer) 1992 Howe was born in Port Talbot in south Wales. His father was a ...
Harold Wilson
(1916–1995)British politician and Labour prime minister (1964–70; 1974–76), noted for his tactical skills in maintaining positive government with a very small majority. He was knighted in 1976 and ...
James Michael Leathers Prior
(b. Norfolk, 11 Oct. 1927)British; Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 1981–4; Baron (life peer) 1987 Educated at Charterhouse and Pembroke College, Cambridge, Prior served as a farmer and land ...
Jeremy Thorpe
(b.1929).Politician. One of the more colourful politicians of his day, Thorpe was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Oxford. Elected to Parliament in 1959 for North Devon as a Liberal, he became ...
Kenneth Baker
(b. Newport, 3 Nov. 1934)British; Secretary of State for Environment 1985–6, Secretary of State for Education 1986–9, chairman of the Conservative Party 1989–90, Home Secretary 1990–2; Baron (life ...
Lord Carrington
(b. 6 June 1919).British Foreign Secretary 1979–82 Born in London, he was educated at Eton and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and was awarded the Military Cross in World War II. He took his ...
Margaret Thatcher
(b. 13 Oct. 1925).British Prime Minister 1979–90Early careerBorn in Grantham (Lincolnshire), she was educated at Kesteven and Grantham Girls School, and at Oxford, where she studied chemistry. She ...
(Nathaniel Mayer) Victor Rothschild
(1910–90) One of the earliest modern collectors of 18th-century English printed books, bindings, and MSS.Apart from the considerable Swift holdings, his collection emphasized range rather than ...
Peter Edward Walker
(b Brentford, Middlesex 25 Mar. 1932; d Worcester, 23 June 2010)British; Secretary of State for the Environment 1970–2, Trade and Industry 1972–4, Welsh Secretary 1987–90; Baron (life peer) 1992 ...
Quintin Hogg, Lord Hailsham
(1907–2001).Conservative politician and lawyer. Hogg entered Parliament at the Oxford by‐election of 1938, a supporter of appeasement. He turned against Chamberlain before the latter's fall in 1940. ...
Selwyn Lloyd
(b. West Kirby, Wirral, 28 July 1904; d. Preston Crowmarsh, Oxfordshire, 17 May 1978)British; Foreign Secretary 1955–60, Chancellor of the Exchequer 1960–3, Speaker of the House of Commons 1971–6; ...
