- Wikipedia

Senior political offices\n

Father of the House of Commons
In office 8 October 1959 \u2013 25 September 1964
Preceded by	David Grenfell
Succeeded by	Rab Butler
Leader of the Opposition
In office 26 July 1945 \u2013 26 October 1951
Prime Minister	Clement Attlee
Preceded by	Clement Attlee
Succeeded by	Clement Attlee
Leader of the Conservative Party
In office 9 October 1940 \u2013 6 April 1955
Preceded by	Neville Chamberlain
Succeeded by	Anthony Eden\n

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Ministerial offices 1939‍–‍1952\n

Minister of Defence
In office 28 October 1951 \u2013 1 March 1952
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Manny Shinwell
Succeeded by	Harold Alexander
In office 10 May 1940 \u2013 26 July 1945
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Ernle Chatfield (Coordination of Defence)
Succeeded by	Clement Attlee
First Lord of the Admiralty
In office 3 September 1939 \u2013 11 May 1940
Prime Minister	Neville Chamberlain
Preceded by	James Stanhope
Succeeded by	A. V. Alexander\n

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Ministerial offices 1908‍–‍1929\n

Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office 6 November 1924 \u2013 4 June 1929
Prime Minister	Stanley Baldwin
Preceded by	Philip Snowden
Succeeded by	Philip Snowden
Secretary of State for the Colonies
In office 13 February 1921 \u2013 19 October 1922
Prime Minister	David Lloyd George
Preceded by	Alfred Milner
Succeeded by	Victor Cavendish
Secretary of State for Air
In office 10 January 1919 \u2013 13 February 1921
Prime Minister	David Lloyd George
Preceded by	William Weir
Succeeded by	Frederick Guest
Secretary of State for War
In office 10 January 1919 \u2013 13 February 1921
Prime Minister	David Lloyd George
Preceded by	The Viscount Milner
Succeeded by	Laming Worthington-Evans
Minister of Munitions
In office 17 July 1917 \u2013 10 January 1919
Prime Minister	David Lloyd George
Preceded by	Christopher Addison
Succeeded by	Andrew Weir
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office 25 May 1915 \u2013 25 November 1915
Prime Minister	H. H. Asquith
Preceded by	Edwin Montagu
Succeeded by	Herbert Samuel
First Lord of the Admiralty
In office 24 October 1911 \u2013 25 May 1915
Prime Minister	H. H. Asquith
Preceded by	Reginald McKenna
Succeeded by	Arthur Balfour
Home Secretary
In office 19 February 1910 \u2013 24 October 1911
Prime Minister	H. H. Asquith
Preceded by	Herbert Gladstone
Succeeded by	Reginald McKenna
President of the Board of Trade
In office 12 April 1908 \u2013 14 February 1910
Prime Minister	H. H. Asquith
Preceded by	David Lloyd George
Succeeded by	Sydney Buxton\n

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Parliamentary offices\n

Member of Parliament for Woodford
In office 5 July 1945 \u2013 25 September 1964
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Member of Parliament for Epping
In office 29 October 1924 \u2013 15 June 1945
Preceded by	Leonard Lyle
Succeeded by	Leah Manning
Member of Parliament for Dundee
In office 9 May 1908 \u2013 26 October 1922 Serving with Alexander Wilkie
Preceded by	\n Edmund Robertson \n Alexander Wilkie \n
Succeeded by	\n Edwin Scrymgeour \n E. D. Morel \n
Member of Parliament for Manchester North West
In office 8 February 1906 \u2013 12 April 1908
Preceded by	William Houldsworth
Succeeded by	William Joynson-Hicks
Member of Parliament for Oldham
In office 24 October 1900 \u2013 8 February 1906
Preceded by	Walter Runciman
Succeeded by	John Albert Bright

Personal details

Born

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill

30 November 1874
Blenheim, Oxfordshire, England

Died

24 January 1965 (aged 90)
London, England

Resting place

St Martin's Church, Bladon, Oxfordshire

Political party

Conservative (1900\u20131904, 1924\u20131964)

Other political
affiliations

Liberal (1904\u20131924)

Spouse

Clementine Hozier

(m. 1908)

Children

5, including Diana, Randolph, Sarah and Mary

Parents

Education

Occupation

Historian
painter
politician
military officer
writer

Civilian awards

Full list

Signature

$\"\"$

Military service

Branch/service

British Army
Territorial Army (from 1902)

Years of service

1893\u20131924

Rank

Full list

Unit

Commands

6th bn, Royal Scots Fusiliers

Battles/wars

Military awards

Full list

Winston Churchill's voice

Churchill's \"Be ye men of valour\" speech
Recorded 19 May 1940

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Liberal Government

Chancellor of the Exchequer

1926 General Strike
British Gazette

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

First Term

Second Term

Books

The World Crisis
The Second World War
A History of the English-Speaking Peoples

$\"\"$ \n

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill^[a] (30 November 1874 \u2013 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (during the Second World War) and again from 1951 to 1955. Apart from 1922 to 1924, he was a member of Parliament (MP) from 1900 to 1964 and represented a total of five constituencies. Ideologically an adherent to economic liberalism and imperialism, he was for most of his career a member of the Conservative Party, which he led from 1940 to 1955. He was a member of the Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924.\n

Of mixed English and American parentage, Churchill was born in Oxfordshire into the wealthy, aristocratic Spencer family. He joined the British Army in 1895 and saw action in British India, the Mahdist War and the Second Boer War, gaining fame as a war correspondent and writing books about his campaigns. Elected a Conservative MP in 1900, he defected to the Liberals in 1904. In H. H. Asquith's Liberal government, Churchill was president of the Board of Trade and Home Secretary, championing prison reform and workers' social security. As First Lord of the Admiralty during the First World War, he oversaw the Gallipoli campaign, but after it proved a disaster, was demoted to Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He resigned in November 1915 and joined the Royal Scots Fusiliers on the Western Front for six months. In 1917, he returned to government under David Lloyd George and served successively as Minister of Munitions, Secretary of State for War, Secretary of State for Air, and Secretary of State for the Colonies, overseeing the Anglo-Irish Treaty and British foreign policy in the Middle East. After two years out of Parliament, he was Chancellor of the Exchequer in Stanley Baldwin's Conservative government, returning sterling in 1925 to the gold standard, depressing the UK economy.\n

Out of government during his so-called \"wilderness years\" in the 1930s, Churchill took the lead in calling for rearmament to counter the threat of militarism in Nazi Germany. At the outbreak of the Second World War he was re-appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. In May 1940, he became prime minister, succeeding Neville Chamberlain. Churchill formed a national government and oversaw British involvement in the Allied war effort against the Axis powers, resulting in victory in 1945. After the Conservatives' defeat in the 1945 general election, he became Leader of the Opposition. Amid the developing Cold War with the Soviet Union, he publicly warned of an \"iron curtain\" of Soviet influence in Europe and promoted European unity. Between his terms, he wrote several books recounting his experience during the war. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953. He lost the 1950 election but was returned to office in 1951. His second term was preoccupied with foreign affairs, especially Anglo-American relations and preservation of what remained of the British Empire, with India no longer a part of it. Domestically, his government's priority was their extensive housebuilding programme, in which they were successful. In declining health, Churchill resigned in 1955, remaining an MP until 1964. Upon his death in 1965, he was given a state funeral.\n

One of the 20th century's most significant figures, Churchill remains popular in the UK and the rest of the Anglosphere. He is generally viewed as a victorious wartime leader who played an integral role in defending liberal democracy against the spread of fascism. He has sometimes been criticised for his imperialism and certain comments on race, in addition to some wartime decisions such as area bombing, but historians nevertheless rank Churchill as one of the greatest British prime ministers.\n

Parliament of the United Kingdom\n
Preceded by Walter Runciman \n	Member of Parliament for Oldham 1900\u20131906 Served alongside: Alfred Emmott\n	Succeeded by John Bright \n
Preceded by William Houldsworth \n	Member of Parliament for Manchester North West 1906\u20131908\n	Succeeded by William Joynson-Hicks \n
Preceded by Edmund Robertson \n	Member of Parliament for Dundee 1908\u20131922 Served alongside: Alexander Wilkie\n	Succeeded by Edwin Scrymgeour \n
Preceded by Leonard Lyle \n	Member of Parliament for Epping 1924\u20131945\n	Succeeded by Leah Manning \n
New constituency\n	Member of Parliament for Woodford 1945\u20131964\n	Constituency abolished \n
Preceded by Dai Grenfell \n	Father of the House 1959\u20131964\n	Succeeded by Rab Butler \n
Political offices\n
Preceded by The Duke of Marlborough \n	Undersecretary of State for the Colonies 1905\u20131908\n	Succeeded by Jack Seely \n
Preceded by David Lloyd George \n	President of the Board of Trade 1908\u20131910\n	Succeeded by Sydney Buxton \n
Preceded by Herbert Gladstone \n	Home Secretary 1910\u20131911\n	Succeeded by Reginald McKenna \n
Preceded by Reginald McKenna \n	First Lord of the Admiralty 1911\u20131915\n	Succeeded by Arthur Balfour \n
Preceded by Edwin Montagu \n	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1915\n	Succeeded by Herbert Samuel \n
Preceded by Christopher Addison \n	Minister of Munitions 1917\u20131919\n	Succeeded by Andrew Weir \n
Preceded by William Weir \n	Secretary of State for Air 1919\u20131921\n	Succeeded by Freddie Guest \n
Preceded by The Viscount Milner \n	Secretary of State for War 1919\u20131921\n	Succeeded by Laming Worthington-Evans \n
Secretary of State for the Colonies 1921\u20131922\n	Succeeded by The Duke of Devonshire \n
Preceded by Philip Snowden \n	Chancellor of the Exchequer 1924\u20131929\n	Succeeded by Philip Snowden \n
Preceded by The Earl Stanhope \n	First Lord of the Admiralty 1939\u20131940\n	Succeeded by A. V. Alexander \n
Preceded by Neville Chamberlain \n	Leader of the House of Commons 1940\u20131942\n	Succeeded by Stafford Cripps \n
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1940\u20131945\n	Succeeded by Clement Attlee \n
Preceded by The Lord Chatfield as Minister for Coordination of Defence \n	Minister of Defence 1940\u20131945\n
Preceded by Clement Attlee \n	Leader of the Opposition 1945\u20131951\n
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1951\u20131955\n	Succeeded by Anthony Eden \n
Preceded by Manny Shinwell \n	Minister of Defence 1951\u20131952\n	Succeeded by The Earl Alexander of Tunis \n
Academic offices\n
Preceded by Andrew Carnegie \n	Rector of the University of Aberdeen 1914\u20131918\n	Succeeded by The Viscount Cowdray \n
Preceded by John Gilmour \n	Rector of the University of Edinburgh 1929\u20131932\n	Succeeded by Ian Hamilton \n
Preceded by The Viscount Haldane \n	Chancellor of the University of Bristol 1929\u20131965\n	Succeeded by The Duke of Beaufort \n
Party political offices\n
Preceded by Neville Chamberlain \n	Leader of the Conservative Party 1940\u20131955\n	Succeeded by Anthony Eden \n
Honorary titles\n
Preceded by The Marquess of Willingdon \n	Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports 1941\u20131965\n	Succeeded by Robert Menzies \n
Preceded by The Viscount Ullswater \n	Senior Privy Counsellor 1949\u20131965\n	Succeeded by The Earl of Swinton \n
Preceded by Fran\u00e7ois Mauriac \n	Laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature 1953\n	Succeeded by Ernest Hemingway \n
Records\n
Preceded by Davie Logan \n	Oldest sitting Member of Parliament 1964\n	Succeeded by Manny Shinwell \n

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Early life

Childhood and schooling: 1874\u20131895

Cuba, India, and Sudan: 1895\u20131899

Politics and South Africa: 1899\u20131901

Conservative MP: 1901\u20131904

Liberal MP: 1904\u20131908

Asquith government: 1908\u20131915

President of the Board of Trade: 1908\u20131910

Home Secretary: 1910\u20131911

First Lord of the Admiralty

Military service, 1915\u20131916

Lloyd George government: 1916\u20131922

Minister of Munitions: 1917\u20131919

Secretary of State for War and Air: 1919\u20131921

Secretary of State for the Colonies: 1921\u20131922

Out of Parliament: 1922\u20131924

Chancellor of the Exchequer: 1924\u20131929

The \"Wilderness Years\": 1929\u20131939

Marlborough and the India Question: 1929\u20131932

Warnings about Germany and the abdication crisis: 1933\u20131936

Anti-appeasement: 1937\u20131939

First Lord of the Admiralty: September 1939 to May 1940

Phoney War and the Norwegian Campaign

Norway Debate and Chamberlain's resignation

Prime Minister: 1940\u201345

Dunkirk to Pearl Harbor: May 1940 to December 1941

War ministry created

Resolve to fight on

Operation Dynamo and the Battle of France

Battle of Britain and the Blitz

Lend-Lease

Operation Barbarossa

Atlantic Charter

Pearl Harbor to D-Day: December 1941 to June 1944

Pearl Harbor and United States entry into the war

Fall of Singapore and loss of Burma

The Bengal Famine

International conferences in 1942

El Alamein and Stalingrad

International conferences in 1943

Invasions of Sicily and Italy

Preparations for D-Day

Need for post-war reform

Defeat of Germany: June 1944 to May 1945

D-Day: Allied invasion of Normandy

Quebec Conference, September 1944

Moscow Conference, October 1944

Yalta Conference, February 1945

Area bombing controversy

VE Day (Victory in Europe Day)

Operation Unthinkable

Caretaker government: May 1945 to July 1945

Potsdam Conference

General election, July 1945

Leader of the Opposition: 1945\u20131951

\"Iron Curtain\" speech

European politics

Ireland

1950 and 1951 Elections

Prime Minister: 1951\u20131955

Election result and cabinet appointments

Health issues to eventual resignation

Foreign affairs

Later life: 1955\u20131965

Retirement: 1955\u20131964

Death, funeral and memorials

Artist, historian, and writer

Legacy and assessments

\"A man of destiny\"

Political ideology

Imperialism and racial views

Cultural depictions

Family

See also

Notes

References

Citations

Print sources

Primary sources

External links