Home of the Hirsel, Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home

Home of the Hirsel, Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home
▪ 1996

      BARON, OF COLDSTREAM (SIR ALEC DOUGLAS-HOME), British politician and statesman (b. July 2, 1903, London, England—d. Oct. 9, 1995, Coldstream, Berwickshire, Scotland), as Sir Alec Douglas-Home, served as prime minister from Oct. 19, 1963, to Oct. 16, 1964. Lord Dunglass—the courtesy title he held before he succeeded his father as the 14th Earl of Home—was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford. He was defeated in his first political contest (1929) but was successful two years later and sat in the House of Commons as a Unionist (1931-45, 1950-51). While serving (1937-39) as parliamentary private secretary to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, he accompanied the prime minister to the meeting with Adolf Hitler in Munich, Germany, that resulted in Czechoslovakia's partition, and he supported the policy of appeasement, claiming that it gave Britain time to rearm. In Winston Churchill's "caretaker" government (May-July 1945), he served as undersecretary of state for foreign affairs. After becoming (1951) the Earl of Home, he entered the House of Lords. He was minister of state for Scotland (1951-55), secretary of state for Commonwealth relations (1955-60), deputy leader (1956-57) and leader (1957-60) of the House of Lords, lord president of the council (1957-60), and foreign secretary (1960-63) before becoming prime minister. Four days after his appointment, he legally relinquished his hereditary titles, retaining the knighthood he had received in 1962. Home held office for only one year before the Conservatives' narrow defeat in the 1964 election led to his resignation. He remained in the House of Commons, functioning as the opposition spokesman for foreign affairs, and from 1970 to 1974 he once again served as foreign secretary. In 1974 he was given a life peerage, and he retired from active politics. Home's books include his autobiography, The Way the Wind Blows (1976), Border Reflections (1979), and Letters to a Grandson (1983).

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Douglas-Home, Sir Alec — orig. Alexander Frederick later Baron Home (of the Hirsel of Coldstream) born July 2, 1903, London, Eng. died Oct. 9, 1995, The Hirsel, Coldstream, Berwickshire, Scot. British statesman. A member of the House of Commons (1931–45 and 1950–51), he… …   Universalium

  • Alexander Douglas-Home — Alec Douglas Home Alexander Frederick Douglas Home, le Baron Home de la Hirsel, comte de Home, né à Mayfair (Londres) le 2 juillet 1903 et mort le 9 octobre 1995, est un homme politique britannique, premier ministre… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Douglas-Home —   [ dʌgləs hjuːm], Sir (1963 74) Alexander Frederick, 14. Earl of Home (1951 63), Baron (seit 1974) Home of the Hirsel [ ȓə həːsl], britischer Politiker, * London 2. 7. 1903, ✝ Coldstream (County Berwickshire) 9. 10. 1995; Konservativer, zunächst …   Universal-Lexikon

  • DOUGLAS-HOME (A.) — Alexander (Alec) Frederick HOME 1903 1995 Descendant d’une fort ancienne dynastie écossaise, qui lui vaut, en 1951, d’hériter du titre de quatorzième comte de Home, il brise cette continuité. Mort à quatre vingt douze ans, le 9 octobre 1995, dans …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Alec Douglas-Home — The Right Honourable The Lord Home of the Hirsel KT PC Prime Minister of the United Kingdom …   Wikipedia

  • Earl of Home — The title Earl of Home (pronounced Hume ) was created in 1605 in the Peerage of Scotland for Alexander Home of that Ilk, who was already the 6th Lord Home. The Earl of Home holds the subsidiary titles of Lord Home (created 1473), and Lord… …   Wikipedia

  • Douglas-Home, Sir Alec — orig. Alexander Frederick post. barón Home (del Hirsel de Coldstream) (2 jul. 1903, Londres, Inglaterra–9 oct. 1995, The Hirsel, Coldstream, Berwickshire, Escocia). Estadista británico. Miembro de la Cámara de los Comunes (1931–45 y 1950–51),… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Douglas-Home — /dug leuhs hyoohm /, n. Alexander Frederick, (Baron Home of the Hirsel), born 1903, British statesman and politician: prime minister 1963 64. * * * …   Universalium

  • Douglas-Home — /dug leuhs hyoohm /, n. Alexander Frederick, (Baron Home of the Hirsel), born 1903, British statesman and politician: prime minister 1963 64 …   Useful english dictionary

  • Alec Douglas-Home — Mandats 68e Premier ministre du Royaume Uni …   Wikipédia en Français

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