Christopher Soames, Baron Soames
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| In office 6 January 1958 – 27 July 1960 |
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| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Harold Macmillan |
| Preceded by | Hon. John Hare |
| Succeeded by | John Profumo |
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| In office 27 July 1960 – 16 October 1964 |
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| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Harold Macmillan Sir Alec Douglas-Home |
| Preceded by | Hon. John Hare |
| Succeeded by | Fred Peart |
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| In office 1968 – 1972 |
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| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Preceded by | Sir Patrick Reilly |
| Succeeded by | Sir Edward Tomkins |
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| Born | 12 October, 1920 |
| Died | 16 September, 1987 |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Mary Churchill (b. 1922) |
Arthur Christopher John Soames, Baron Soames, GCMG, GCVO, CH, CBE, PC (12 October, 1920 – 16 September, 1987) was a British Conservative politician and the son-in-law of Winston Churchill. A European Commissioner and the last Governor of Southern Rhodesia, he had previously been the longtime Member of Parliament for Bedford from 1950 to 1966. He held several government posts and attained Cabinet rank.
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[edit] Background
Soames was the son of Captain Arthur Granville Soames, a descendant of a brewing family which became part of the landed gentry, by his wife Hope Mary Woodbine Parish. His parents divorced early on, and his mother remarried the 8th Baron Dynevor (descendant of the 1st and last Earl Talbot) as her second husband, by whom she had issue including Richard Rhys, 9th Baron Dynevor.
[edit] Political career
After military service in the Second World War, Soames served as the Assistant Military Attaché in Paris. He was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Bedford from 1950 to 1966 and served under Sir Anthony Eden as Under-Secretary of State for Air from 1955 to 1957 and under Harold Macmillan as Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty from 1957 to 1958. He served in the Cabinet under Macmillan as Secretary of State for War from 1958 to 1960 and under Macmillan and his successor Sir Alec Douglas-Home as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from 1960 to 1964. In 1958 he was admitted to the Privy Council
Between 1965 and 1966 Soames was Shadow Foreign Secretary under Edward Heath. In 1968 Harold Wilson appointed him Ambassador to France, where he served until 1972. He was then a Vice-President of the European Commission from 1973 to 1976. He was created a life peer in 1978 as Baron Soames, of Fletching in the County of East Sussex, and served as the interim Governor of Southern Rhodesia from 1979 to 1980 between the Lancaster House Agreement and that country gaining independence as Zimbabwe. From 1979 to 1981 he was Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Lords under Margaret Thatcher concurrent with his duties in Rhodesia.
[edit] Family
Lord Soames married Mary Churchill, the youngest child of Winston Churchill and Clementine Hozier, on 11 February, 1947. They had five children, of whom the best known is his eldest son the Hon. Nicholas Soames, the former Conservative Shadow Secretary of State for Defence. Lord Soames died from pancreatitis aged 66 and is buried within the Churchill plot at St Martin's Church, Bladon, near Woodstock, Oxfordshire.
[edit] References
- Stevan Pavlowitch, Apologising for the Empire, Oxford University Press, England, 1996
[edit] External links
- Time:Festive Birth of a Nation (Zimbabwe)
- Maximilian Genealogy Master Database 2000
- Nicholas Soames - MP for Mid Sussex
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas Skeffington-Lodge |
Member of Parliament for Bedford 1950–1966 |
Succeeded by Brian Parkyn |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Hon. George Ward |
Under-Secretary of State for Air 1955–1957 |
Succeeded by Ian Orr-Ewing |
| Preceded by Hon. George Ward |
Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty 1957–1958 |
Succeeded by Robert Allan |
| Preceded by Hon. John Hare |
Secretary of State for War 1958–1960 |
Succeeded by John Profumo |
| Preceded by Hon. John Hare |
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 1960–1964 |
Succeeded by Fred Peart |
| Preceded by Reginald Maudling |
Shadow Foreign Secretary 1965–1966 |
Succeeded by Sir Alec Douglas-Home |
| Preceded by Michael Foot |
Lord President of the Council 1979–1981 |
Succeeded by Francis Pym |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by Sir Patrick Reilly |
British Ambassador to France 1968–1972 |
Succeeded by Sir Edward Tomkins |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by None |
Governor of Southern Rhodesia 1979–1980 |
Succeeded by Office abolished |
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