Alec Douglas-Home (redirected from Douglas-Home)

Douglas-Home, Alec 

Born July 2, 1903, in London. British statesman. Descended from an aristocratic Scottish family.

Douglas-Home received his education at Eton and Oxford. In 1931 he was elected to the House of Commons as a member of the Conservative Party. From 1937 to 1939 he served as parliamentary private secretary to Prime Minister N. Chamberlain. In 1938 he took part in the Conference of Munich, which concluded with the signing of the Munich Pact of 1938, after which he accompanied Chamberlain on a trip to Rome for negotiations with Mussolini. In 1951, after inheriting the title of earl of Home, he entered the House of Lords.

Douglas-Home held a number of important ministerial posts in the governments of Churchill and Macmillan. From 1955 to 1960 he was commonwealth relations secretary, and from 1960 to 1963, foreign secretary. From 1957 to 1960 he was also the leader of the House of Lords. From 1963 to 1965, Douglas-Home was the leader of the Conservative Party, and in 1963-64 he was prime minister. Upon accepting the latter post, he renounced his title of lord and was elected again to the House of Commons. From 1970 to 1974 he was foreign secretary and commonwealth relations secretary in the government of E. Heath.