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Alec Douglas-Home
Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, known as Lord Dunglass from 1918 to 1951 and the Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963, was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1963 to 1964. He was the last prime minister to hold office while being a member of the House of Lords, before renouncing his peerage and taking up a s…
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politics · Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1963 to 1964 · politician · cricketer · diplomat · baron · also Alec Douglas-Home, Lord Home, Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Home of the Hirsel, Alec Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel
Born 2 July 1903 · Died 9 October 1995 · Q128976
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What had been a trickle of immigrants from the Commonwealth was developing into a flood. We saw that if it was not brought under control it would create very serious social and economic problems—problems of employment, housing and education, for instance. So we brought in legislation. The socialists—aided by the Liberals—opposed it all along the line.
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2026· 3 entries
Public attention spiked: 2,800 Wikipedia readers in one day, 3× the usual 931, with 0 article edits.
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Public attention spiked: 5,050 Wikipedia readers in one day, 5.4× the usual 931, with 0 article edits.
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1995· 5 entries
Died 1995-10-09.
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The latter was Home's heir, who became the 15th Earl of Home in 1995.
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Douglas-Home died at the Hirsel on 9 October 1995, aged 92, four months after the death of his parliamentary opponent Harold Wilson.
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“What had been a trickle of immigrants from the Commonwealth was developing into a flood. We saw that if it was not brought under control it would create very serious social and economic problems—problems of employment, housing and education, for instance. So we brought in legislation. The socialists—aided by the Liberals—opposed it all along the line.”
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“Why do we need wealth? Security and peace. This is our goal and we passionately seek it because it is the way of life which we are charged by our religion to practise.”
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1989· 1 entry
When he spoke against Hurd's proposals for prosecuting war criminals living in Britain: "After such a lapse of time justice might not be seen to be done
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1974· 2 entries
Returned to the House of Lords as a life peer, and retired from front-line politics
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Career landmark: member of the 46th Parliament of the United Kingdom (1974–1974).
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1970· 2 entries
Career landmark: Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1970–1974).
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Career landmark: member of the 45th Parliament of the United Kingdom (1970–1974).
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1966· 6 entries
Called another election in which Labour gained a strong working majority of 96
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Douglas-Home became president of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which was then the governing body of English and world cricket
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Into the Commonwealth Office, which, two years later, was merged with the Foreign Office, to form the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)
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Career landmark: Representative of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (1966–1969).
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Career landmark: member of the 44th Parliament of the United Kingdom (1966–1970).
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Career landmark: Shadow Foreign Secretary (1966–1970).
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1964· 2 entries
Career landmark: member of the 43rd Parliament of the United Kingdom (1964–1966).
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Career landmark: Leader of the Opposition (1964–1965).
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1963· 6 entries
Intended to help the Queen choose his successor:
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Career landmark: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1963–1964).
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Career landmark: Leader of the Conservative Party (1963–1965).
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Career landmark: member of the 42nd Parliament of the United Kingdom (1963–1964).
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Therefore, it was well established that the Prime Minister should be a member of the House of Commons
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Douglas-Home set up an orderly process of secret balloting by Conservative MPs for the election of his immediate and future successors as party leader
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1962· 2 entries
Awarded Order of the Thistle (1962).
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Was known after stepping down from the Lords as Sir Alec Douglas-Home
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1961· 1 entry
When on the orders of the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, the Berlin Wall was erected to stop East Germans escaping to West Germany via West Berlin
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1960· 3 entries
Awarded Doctor of Law (honorary) presented by University of Oxford (1960).
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The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Derick Heathcoat-Amory, insisted on retiring
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Career landmark: Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1960–1963).
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1959· 1 entry
Career landmark: Lord President of the Council (1959–1960).
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1957· 1 entry
Career landmark: Leader of the House of Lords (1957–1960).
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1956· 1 entry
Described by Dutton as "the most divisive in its history to date"
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1955· 4 entries
But concluded that it would be unacceptable to the Commons
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Career landmark: Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations (1955–1960).
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Promoted Home to the cabinet as Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations
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Had been the obvious successor to Churchill, but this time there was no clear heir apparent
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1952· 1 entry
That in Scotland she should be styled "Elizabeth I"
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1951· 2 entries
Career landmark: member of the House of Lords (1951–1963).
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Career landmark: Member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom (1951).
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1950· 2 entries
Clement Attlee, the Labour prime minister, called a general election
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Career landmark: member of the 39th Parliament of the United Kingdom (1950–1951).
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1947· 1 entry
Was well in the past, and the wave of decolonising of the 1960s was yet to come
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1944· 1 entry
With the war now turning in the Allies' favour, Dunglass spoke eloquently about the importance of resisting the Soviet Union's ambition to dominate eastern Europe
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1940· 2 entries
There were two likely successors, Churchill and Halifax, but the latter ruled himself out for the premiership on the grounds that his membership of the House of Lords disqualified him
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Was diagnosed with spinal tuberculosis, which forced him to suspend his political activities for nearly two years
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1937· 1 entry
The incumbent, Stanley Baldwin, retired, and Chamberlain succeeded him
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1936· 2 entries
In 1936 Douglas-Home married Elizabeth Alington; her father, Cyril Alington, had been Douglas-Home's headmaster at Eton, and was from 1933 Dean of Durham.
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Douglas-Home married Elizabeth Alington; her father, Cyril Alington, had been Douglas-Home's headmaster at Eton, and was from 1933 Dean of Durham
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1935· 2 entries
Career landmark: member of the 37th Parliament of the United Kingdom (1935–1945).
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And less than a year later became PPS to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Neville Chamberlain
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1931· 3 entries
Career landmark: member of the 36th Parliament of the United Kingdom (1931–1935).
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To deal with a financial crisis Dunglass was adopted as the pro-coalition Unionist candidate for Lanark
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And, within six years, became a parliamentary aide to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, witnessing the government's efforts to maintain peace through appeasement prior to the outbreak of the Second World War
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1924· 1 entry
As a lieutenant in the Lanarkshire Yeomanry, and was promoted to captain in 1928
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1918· 1 entry
The 12th Earl of Home died; Dunglass succeeded him in the earldom, and the courtesy title passed to his son, Alec Douglas-Home, who was styled Lord Dunglass until 1951
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1916· 1 entry
Lord Rosebery, who had been prime minister in 1894–95, said that having an ex-premier in the cabinet was "a fleeting and dangerous luxury"
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1903· 1 entry
Born 1903-07-02.
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