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| Alexander Douglas-Home became Britain’s Prime Minister from 1963, when he succeeded Harold Macmillan. Douglas-Home served as Prime Minister until 1964. He was not considered to be everyone’s natural choice for Prime Minister because he came across as being too reserved and some felt that he had little in common with the majority of the people in the UK.
Alexander Douglas-Home was born on July 2nd 1903 in Mayfair, London. He was born into a position of privilege, as his various titles would indicate. Douglas-Home was educated at Eton and went to Christ Church College, Oxford University.
He was elected as a Unionist MP for South Lanark in 1931 – a position he held until 1945. Douglas-Home was the first peer to be elected as a Member of Parliament since Lord Salisbury in 1895. Douglas-Home became a Conservative MP in 1950 for Lanark – a post he held until 1951. From 1963 to 1974, Douglas-Home was MP for Kinross and West Perth.
From 1937 to 1939, Douglas-Home was the private personal secretary of Neville Chamberlain. He spent two years of the war incapacitated due to a back injury when he had to wear a spinal cast. In 1951, when the Conservatives won the general election, Douglas-Home was recommended to Winston Churchill as Minister for Scotland. Churchill replied with “Never heard of him”. Regardless of this, Churchill appointed Douglas-Home Minister of Scotland – a post he held until 1955.
Under Anthony Eden, Douglas-Home was brought into the cabinet as Minister for Commonwealth Relations. He held this post for five years when Macmillan appointed him as Foreign Secretary in 1960. Douglas-Home held this post until 1963.
In October 1963, Harold Macmillan resigned as Prime Minister. Many were surprised when Macmillan recommended to the Queen that she call Douglas-Home to appoint a cabinet as Prime Minister. He had to disclaim his peerage to serve in the House of Commons and he became Sir Alex Douglas-Home. He was 60 years old when he became Prime Minister and he spent 362 days at the helm and served Kinross and West Perth as its MP.
He was Prime Minister for one year and lost the October 1964 election to Labour’s Harold Wilson by just five seats. He served as Leader of the Opposition for nine months and was succeeded as leader of the Conservative party by Edward Heath. When he became Prime Minister in 1970, Heath appointed Douglas-Home Foreign Secretary in June 1970. He held this position until February 1974. He then returned to the Lords as a life peer where he attended regularly for twenty years.
Alex Douglas-Home died on October 9th 1995 in Berwickshire, Scotland.
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