Thomas Platter and Harold Macmillan: Difference between pages
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|+ '''The Rt Hon. Harold Macmillan'''
|style="background:#efefef;" align="center" colspan="2"|
|-
|'''Period in Office:'''
|[[11 January]] [[1957]] – [[19 October]] [[1963]]
|-
|'''PM Predecessor:'''
|[[Anthony Eden]]
|-
|'''PM Successor:'''
|[[Alec Douglas-Home|The Earl of Home]]
|-
|'''Date of Birth:'''
|[[10 February]] [[1894]]
|-
|'''Place of Birth:'''
|[[Brixton]]
|-
|'''[[Political Party]]:'''
|[[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]
|-
|'''Retirement honour:'''
|[[Order of Merit]]<br>[[Earl of Stockton|Earldom of Stockton]]<br>Viscountcy (Macmillan of Ovenden)
|}
[[The Right Honourable]] '''Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton''', [[Order of Merit|OM]], [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|PC]] ([[10 February]] [[1894]]–[[29 December]] [[1986]]), [[nickname]]d "Supermac" and "Mac the Knife", was a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] politician and [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] from [[1957]] to [[1963]].
==Early life==
Macmillan was born in [[Brixton]]. His grandfather was a [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[croft (Scotland)|crofter]] who founded [[Macmillan Publishers]]. He was educated at [[Eton College|Eton]] and at [[Balliol College, Oxford]]. He served with distinction in [[WW I]], being wounded on three occasions.
==Marriage==
He married [[Lady Dorothy Cavenish]], daughter of [[Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire]] in [[1920]].
They had one son [[Maurice Macmillan]], [[Viscount Macmillan of Ovenden]] and two daughters [[Lady Catherine Macmillan|Lady Amery of Lustleigh]] (who married the [[politician]] [[Julian Amery|Lord Amery of Lustleigh]]) and [[Lady Caroline Faber]], (who married the [[insurance agent]] [[Julian Faber]]). Lady Dorothy had a long affair with the Conservative politician [[Robert Boothby]], (with whom she had a daughter Sarah); she died in [[1966]], aged [[65]].
==Political Career==
Elected to the [[United Kingdom House of Commons|House of Commons]] in [[1924]] for [[Stockton-on-Tees]], he lost his seat in [[1929]] only to return in [[1931]]. In the [[1930s]] he was stuck on the backbenches, his leftish ideas and sharp criticism of [[Stanley Baldwin]] and [[Neville Chamberlain]] serving to isolate him. In [[World War II]] he was part of the wartime coalition government; he worked with the Ministry of Supply before being sent to North Africa in [[1942]] as British government representative to the Allies in the Mediterranean.
He returned to England post-war and lost his own seat in the massive electoral defeat of [[1945]]. He soon returned to Parliament in a November 1945 by-election for [[Bromley]]. When the Conservatives regained power in [[1951]] he was [[Minister of Housing]] (October [[1951]]) then [[Secretary of State for Defence|Minister of Defence]] (October [[1954]]) under [[Winston Churchill]] and [[Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs|Foreign Secretary]] (April-December [[1955]]) and [[Chancellor of the Exchequer ]]([[1955]]-[[1957]]) under [[Anthony Eden]]. When Eden resigned in January 1957 he was succeeded by Macmillan on the 10th (despite many expecting [[Rab Butler]] to succeed instead) and Macmillan also became leader of the Conservative Party (22nd).
==Government==
Macmillan brought the monetary concerns of the exchequer into office - the economy was his prime concern. However his approach to the economy was to seek high employment, whereas his treasury ministers argued that to support sterling required strict controls on money and hence a rise in unemployment. Their advice was rejected and in January [[1958]] all the Treasury ministers resigned. Macmillan brushed aside this incident as "a little local difficulty".
Macmillan supported the creation of the [[National Incomes Commission]] as a means to institute controls on income as part of his growth without inflation policy, a further series of subtle indicators and controls were also introduced during his premiership.
Macmillan also took close control of foreign policy. He worked to narrow the rift post-[[Suez Crisis|Suez]] with the U.S., where his wartime friendship with [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] was useful, and the two had a pleasant conference in Bermuda as early as March [[1957]]. The better relationship remained after the ascent of [[John F. Kennedy]]. Macmillan also saw the value of a rapprochement with Europe and sought belated entry to the [[European Economic Community]] (EEC) as well as exploring the possibility of a [[European Free Trade Area]] (EFTA). In terms of the Empire Macmillan continued the divestment of the colonies, his "wind of change" speech (February [[1960]]) indicating his policy. [[Ghana]] and [[Malaya]] were granted independence in [[1957]], [[Nigeria]] in [[1960]] and [[Kenya]] in [[1963]]. However in the Middle East Macmillan ensured Britain remained a force - intervening over [[Iraq]] in [[1958]] and [[1960]] as well as becoming involved in [[Oman]].
He led the Conservatives to victory in the [[United Kingdom general election, 1959|October 1959 general election]], increasing his party's majority from 67 to 107 seats. The election campaign had been based on the economic improvements achieved, the slogan "Life's Better Under the Conservatives" was matched by Macmillan's own remark, "most of our people have never had it so good" usually paraphrased as "You've never had it so good." The actual growth rate, compared to the rest of Europe, was weak and marked a relative decline distorted by high defence expenditure.
Macmillan had a reputation for being unflappable in public. For example, on [[September 29]], [[1960]], [[Soviet]] leader [[Nikita Khrushchev]] twice interrupted a speech by Macmillan at the [[United Nations]] by shouting out and pounding his desk. Macmillan famously replied: "I should like that to be translated if he wants to say anything."
Following the technical failures of a British independent nuclear deterrent with the [[Blue Streak missile|Blue Streak]] and the [[Blue Steel missile|Blue Steel]] projects, Macmillan negotiated the supply of American [[Polaris missile]]s under the [[Nassau agreement]] in December [[1962]]. Previously he had agreed to base sixty [[Thor missile]]s in Britain under joint control, and since late [[1957]] the American [[McMahon Act]] had been eased to allow Britain more access to nuclear technology. These negotiations were the basis for [[Peter Cook]]'s satire of Macmillan in [[Beyond the Fringe]].
Macmillan was a major force in the successful negotiations leading to Britain, the U.S., and the Soviet Union signing the [[Partial Test Ban Treaty]] in [[1962]]. His previous attempt to create an agreement at the May [[1960]] summit in Paris had collapsed due to the [[U-2 Crisis of 1960|Gary Powers affair]].
Britain's application to join the EEC was vetoed by [[Charles de Gaulle]] ([[29 January]] [[1963]]), in part due to his fear that "the end would be a colossal Atlantic Community dependent on America" and in part in anger at the Anglo-American nuclear deal.
Britain's [[balance of payments]] problems led to the imposition of a wage freeze in [[1961]]. This caused the government to lose popularity and led to a series of [[by-election]] defeats. He organised a major Cabinet change in July [[1962]] but he continued to lose support from within his party. During this time he was quoted, "Greater love hath no man than this, than to lay down his friends for his life" suggesting the difficulty of his decisions. He was also embarrassed by the [[Profumo Affair]] of [[1963]]. Following ill health and surgery he resigned on [[18 October]] [[1963]]. He was succeeded by [[Alec Douglas-Home]], the foreign secretary. This proved controversial as it was alleged that Macmillan had pulled strings and utilised the party's grandees, nicknamed "The Magic Circle", to ensure that Butler was not chosen as his successor.
==Retirement==
[[Image:Harold-Macmillan-arms.PNG|thumb|right|150px|Arms of Harold Macmillan]]
Macmillan initially refused a peerage and retired from politics in September [[1964]]. He did, however, accept the distinction of the [[Order of Merit]] from The Queen. After retiring, he took up the chairmanship of his family's publishing house [[Macmillan Publishers]]. Over the next twenty years he made the occasional intervention. Following [[Margaret Thatcher]]'s election as leader of the Conservative Party, Macmillan was found to be intervening more often as the record of his premiership came under attack from the [[monetarists]] in the party. In one of his more memorable contributions he likened [[Margaret Thatcher]]'s policy of [[privatisation]] to "selling the family silver". In [[1984]] he finally accepted a peerage and was created '''Earl of Stockton''' and '''Viscount Macmillan of Ovenden'''. He died at Birch Grove in Sussex in [[1986]] at the age of 92 years and 322 days - the greatest age attained by any British Prime Minister until it was surpassed by [[James Callaghan]] on [[14 February]] [[2005]].
==Titles from birth to death==
*Harold Macmillan, Esq ([[10 February]] [[1894]]–[[29 October]] [[1924]])
*Harold Macmillan, Esq, MP ([[29 October]] [[1924]]–[[30 May]] [[1929]])
*Harold Macmillan, Esq ([[30 May]] [[1929]]–[[4 November]] [[1931]])
*Harold Macmillan, Esq, MP ([[4 November]] [[1931]]–[[1942]])
*The Right Honourable Harold Macmillan, MP ([[1942]]–[[26 July]] [[1945]])
*The Right Honourable Harold Macmillan ([[26 July]] [[1945]]–[[November]] [[1945]])
*The Right Honourable Harold Macmillan, MP ([[November]] [[1945]]–[[September]] [[1964]]
*The Right Honourable Harold Macmillan ([[September]] [[1964]]–[[2 April]] [[1976]])
*The Right Honourable Harold Macmillan, OM ([[2 April]] [[1976]]–[[24 February]] [[1984]])
*The Right Honourable The Earl of Stockton, OM, PC ([[24 February]] [[1984]]–[[29 December]] [[1986]])
==External link==
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/29/newsid_2547000/2547307.stm BBC Harold Macmillan obituary]
==Cabinets==
''For a full list of Ministerial office-holders, see [[Conservative Government 1957-1964]].''
=== January 1957 - October 1959===
*Harold Macmillan: Prime Minister
*[[David Patrick Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir|Lord Kilmuir]]: [[Lord Chancellor]]
*[[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury|Lord Salisbury]]: [[Lord President of the Council]]
*[[Rab Butler]]: [[Lord Privy Seal]] and [[Secretary of State for the Home Department]]
*[[Peter Thorneycroft]]: [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]]
*[[Selwyn Lloyd]]: [[Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs]]
*[[Alan Lennox-Boyd]]: [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]]
*[[Alec Douglas-Home|Lord Home]]: [[Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations]]
*Sir [[David Eccles]]: [[President of the Board of Trade]]
*[[Charles Hill]]: [[Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster]]
*[[Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone|Lord Hailsham]]: Minister of Education
*[[John Scott Maclay, 1st Viscount Muirshiel|John Scott Maclay]]: [[Secretary of State for Scotland]]
*[[Derick Heathcoat Amory]]: [[Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food|Minister of Agriculture]]
*[[Iain Macleod]]: Minister of Labour and National Service
*[[Harold Arthur Watkinson]]: Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation
*[[Duncan Edwin Sandys]]: Minister of Defence
*[[Percy Herbert Mills, 1st Baron Mills|Lord Mills]]: Minister of Power
*[[Henry Brooke (politician)|Henry Brooke]]: Minister of Housing and Local Government and Welsh Affairs
'''Change'''
*March [[1957]] - Lord Home succeeds Lord Salisbury as Lord President, remaining also Commonwealth Relations Secretary.
*September [[1957]] - Lord Hailsham succeeds Lord Home as Lord President, Home remaining Commonwealth Relations Secretary. [[Geoffrey Lloyd]] succeeds Hailsham as Minister of Education. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, [[Reginald Maudling]], enters the Cabinet.
*January [[1958]] - Derick Heathcoat Amory succeeds Peter Thorneycroft as Chancellor of the Exchequer. [[John Hare, 1st Viscount Blakenham|John Hare]] succeeds Amory as Minister of Agriculture.
===October 1959 - July 1960===
*Harold Macmillan: [[Prime Minister]]
*[[David Patrick Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir|Lord Kilmuir]]: [[Lord Chancellor]]
*[[Alec Douglas-Home|Lord Home]]: [[Lord President of the Council]] and [[Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations]]
*[[Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone|Lord Hailsham]]: [[Lord Privy Seal]] and [[Minister of Science]]
*[[Derick Heathcoat Amory]]: [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]]
*[[Rab Butler]]: [[Secretary of State for the Home Department]]
*[[Selwyn Lloyd]]: [[Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs]]
*[[Iain Macleod]]: [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]]
*[[Reginald Maudling]]: [[President of the Board of Trade]]
*[[Charles Hill]]: [[Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster]]
*[[David Eccles|Sir David Eccles]]: [[Secretary of State for Education|Minister of Education]]
*[[Percy Herbert Mills, 1st Viscount Mills|Lord Mills]]: [[Secretary to the Treasury|Chief Secretary to the Treasury]]
*[[Ernest Marples]]: [[Minister of Transport]]
*[[Duncan Edwin Sandys]]: [[Minister of Aviation]]
*[[Harold Arthur Watkinson]]: [[Secretary of State for Defence|Minister of Defence]]
*[[John Scott Maclay, 1st Viscount Muirshiel|John Scott Maclay]]: [[Secretary of State for Scotland]]
*[[Edward Heath]]: [[Minister of Labour and National Service]]
*[[John Hare]]: [[Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food|Minister of Agriculture]]
*[[Henry Brooke (politician)|Henry Brooke]]: [[Minister of Housing]] and [[Local Government and Welsh Affairs]]
===July 1960 - October 1961===
*Harold Macmillan: Prime Minister
*[[David Patrick Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir|Lord Kilmuir]]: [[Lord Chancellor]]
*[[Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone|Lord Hailsham]]: [[Lord President of the Council]] and Minister of Science
*[[Edward Heath]]: [[Lord Privy Seal]]
*[[Selwyn Lloyd]]: [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]]
*[[Rab Butler]]: [[Secretary of State for the Home Department]]
*[[Alec Douglas-Home|Lord Home]]: [[Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs]]
*[[Iain Macleod]]: [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]]
*[[Duncan Edwin Sandys]]: [[Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations]]
*[[Reginald Maudling]]: [[President of the Board of Trade]]
*[[Charles Hill]]: [[Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster]]
*[[David Eccles|Sir David Eccles]]: [[Secretary of State for Education|Minister of Education]]
*[[Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone|Lord Hailsham]]: Minister of Science
*[[Percy Herbert Mills, 1st Viscount Mills|Lord Mills]]: [[Secretary to the Treasury|Chief Secretary to the Treasury]]
*[[Ernest Marples]]: Minister of Transport
*[[Peter Thorneycroft]]: Minister of Aviation
*[[Harold Arthur Watkinson]]: [[Secretary of State for Defence|Minister of Defence]]
*[[John Scott Maclay, 1st Viscount Muirshiel|John Scott Maclay]]: [[Secretary of State for Scotland]]
*[[John Hare]]: Minister of Labour and National Service
*[[Christopher Soames]]: [[Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food|Minister of Agriculture]]
*[[Henry Brooke (politician)|Henry Brooke]]: Minister of Housing and Local Government and Welsh Affairs
===October 1961 - July 1962===
*Harold Macmillan: Prime Minister
*[[David Patrick Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir|Lord Kilmuir]]: [[Lord Chancellor]]
*[[Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone|Lord Hailsham]]: [[Lord President of the Council]] and Minister of Science
*[[Edward Heath]]: [[Lord Privy Seal]]
*[[Selwyn Lloyd]]: [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]]
*[[Rab Butler]]: [[Secretary of State for the Home Department]]
*[[Alec Douglas-Home|Lord Home]]: [[Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs]]
*[[Iain Macleod]]: [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]]
*[[Duncan Edwin Sandys]]: [[Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations]]
*[[Frederick Erroll]]: [[President of the Board of Trade]]
*[[Iain Macleod]]: [[Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster]]
*[[David Eccles|Sir David Eccles]]: [[Secretary of State for Education|Minister of Education]]
*[[Henry Brooke (politician)|Henry Brooke]]: [[Secretary to the Treasury|Chief Secretary to the Treasury]]
*[[Ernest Marples]]: Minister of Transport
*[[Peter Thorneycroft]]: Minister of Aviation
*[[Harold Arthur Watkinson]]: [[Secretary of State for Defence|Minister of Defence]]
*[[John Scott Maclay, 1st Viscount Muirshiel|John Scott Maclay]]: [[Secretary of State for Scotland]]
*[[John Hare]]: Minister of Labour and National Service
*[[Christopher Soames]]: [[Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food|Minister of Agriculture]]
*[[Charles Hill]]: Minister of Housing and Local Government and Welsh Affairs
*[[Percy Herbert Mills, 1st Viscount Mills|Lord Mills]]: Minister without Portfolio
===July 1962 - October 1963===
In a radical reshuffle dubbed "[[Night of the Long Knives (1962)|The Night of the Long Knives]]", Macmillan sacked a third of his Cabinet and instituted many other changes.
*Harold Macmillan: Prime Minister
*[[Rab Butler]]: [[Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Deputy Prime Minister]] and [[First Secretary of State]]
*[[Reginald Edward Manningham-Buller, 1st Viscount Dilhorne|Lord Dilhorne]]: [[Lord Chancellor]]
*[[Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone|Lord Hailsham]]: [[Lord President of the Council]] and Minister of Science
*[[Edward Heath]]: [[Lord Privy Seal]]
*[[Reginald Maudling]]: [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]]
*[[Henry Brooke (politician)|Henry Brooke]]: [[Secretary of State for the Home Department]]
*[[Alec Douglas-Home|Lord Home]]: [[Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs]]
*[[Iain Macleod]]: [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]]
*[[Duncan Edwin Sandys]]: [[Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations]]
*[[Frederick Erroll]]: [[President of the Board of Trade]]
*[[Iain Macleod]]: [[Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster]]
*[[Edward Boyle|Sir Edward Boyle]]: [[Secretary of State for Education|Minister of Education]]
*[[John Boyd-Carpenter]]: [[Secretary to the Treasury|Chief Secretary to the Treasury]]
*[[Ernest Marples]]: Minister of Transport
*[[Julian Amery]]: Minister of Aviation
*[[Peter Thorneycroft]]: [[Secretary of State for Defence|Minister of Defence]]
*[[Michael Noble]]: [[Secretary of State for Scotland]]
*[[John Hare]]: [[Secretary of State for Employment|Minister of Labour and National Service]]
*[[Christopher Soames]]: [[Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food|Minister of Agriculture]]
*[[Keith Joseph|Sir Keith Joseph]]: Minister of Housing and Local Government and Welsh Affairs
*[[Enoch Powell]]: Minister of Health
*[[William Francis Deedes]]: Minister without Portfolio
{{start box}}
{{succession box | title=[[Secretary of State for Air]] | before=[[Archibald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso|Sir Archibald Sinclair]] | after=[[William Wedgwood Benn, 1st Viscount Stansgate|The Viscount Stansgate]] | years=1945}}
{{succession box | title=[[Minister of Defence]] | before= [[Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis|Earl Alexander of Tunis]] | after=[[Selwyn Lloyd]] | years=1954–1955}}
{{succession box | title=[[Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs|Foreign Secretary]] | before=[[Anthony Eden|Sir Anthony Eden]] | after=[[Selwyn Lloyd]] | years=1955}}
{{succession box | title=[[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] | before=[[Rab Butler]] | after=[[Peter Thorneycroft]] | years=1955–1957}}
{{succession box two to two | title1=[[Conservative Party (UK)|Leader of the British Conservative Party]] | title2=[[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] | before=[[Anthony Eden|Sir Anthony Eden]] | after=[[Alec Douglas-Home|The Earl of Home]] | years1=1957–1963 | years2=1957–1963}}
{{end box}}
{{start box}}
{{succession box | title=[[Earl of Stockton]] | before=New Creation | after=[[Alexander Macmillan, 2nd Earl of Stockton|Alexander Macmillan]] | years=}}
{{end box}}
[[Category:1894 births|Macmillan, Harold]]
[[Category:1986 deaths|Macmillan, Harold]]
[[Category:British Prime Ministers|Macmillan, Harold]]
[[Category:British Secretaries of State|Macmillan, Harold]]
[[Category:Chancellors of the Exchequer|Macmillan, Harold]]
[[Category:Leaders of the British Conservative Party|Macmillan, Harold]]
[[Category:Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom|Macmillan, Harold]]
[[Category:Londoners|Macmillan, Harold]]
[[de:Harold Macmillan]]
[[fr:Harold Macmillan]]
[[it:Harold Macmillan]]
[[ja:ハロルド・マクミラン]]
[[pl:Harold Macmillan]]
[[zh:麥美倫]]
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