Campbell-Bannerman, Sir Henry (redirected from Campbell-Bannerman)

Campbell-Bannerman, Sir Henry, 1836–1908, British statesman. Entering Parliament (1868) as a Liberal, he served as secretary to the admiralty (1882–84), secretary of state for Ireland (1884), and secretary of state for war (1886, 1892–95). He was knighted in 1895. In 1899 he was elected leader of the Liberal party (succeeding Sir William Harcourt) and led opposition to British policy in the South African War (1899–1902). When the Conservative government resigned in 1905, Campbell-Bannerman became prime minister. Before ill health caused his retirement in 1908 he had furthered many Liberal measures, including that of self-government for the Transvaal and the Orange Free State.

Bibliography

See biography by J. Wilson (1974).

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Campbell-Bannerman, Sir Henry

 orig. Henry Campbell

(born Sept. 7, 1836, Glasgow, Scot.—died April 22, 1908, London, Eng.) British politician. A member of the House of Commons from 1868, he was elected leader of the Liberal Party in 1899 and served as prime minister (1905–08). His popularity unified his badly divided party. Though much of his legislative program was nullified by the House of Lords, he obtained approval of the Trades Disputes Act of 1906. He took the lead in granting self-government to the Transvaal and the Orange River Colony, thereby securing the Boers' loyalty to the British Empire.