David Lloyd George

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922

David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor,[a] OM, PC (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was the British Prime Minister during the last half of World War I. He was Prime Minister for six years, between 1916 and 1922.


David Lloyd George

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office
6 December 1916 – 19 October 1922
MonarchGeorge V
Preceded byH. H. Asquith
Succeeded byBonar Law
Leader of the Liberal Party
In office
14 October 1926 – 4 November 1931
Preceded byH. H. Asquith
Succeeded byHerbert Samuel
Secretary of State for War
In office
6 July 1916 – 5 December 1916
Prime MinisterH. H. Asquith
Preceded byThe Earl Kitchener
Succeeded byThe Earl of Derby
Minister of Munitions
In office
25 May 1915 – 9 July 1916
Prime MinisterH. H. Asquith
Preceded byOffice created
Succeeded byEdwin Montagu
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office
12 April 1908 – 25 May 1915
Prime MinisterH. H. Asquith
Preceded byH. H. Asquith
Succeeded byReginald McKenna
President of the Board of Trade
In office
10 December 1905 – 12 April 1908
Prime MinisterHenry Campbell-Bannerman
H. H. Asquith
Preceded byThe Marquess of Salisbury
Succeeded byWinston Churchill
Father of the House
In office
31 May 1929 – 13 February 1945
Preceded byT. P. O'Connor
Succeeded byThe Earl Winterton
Member of Parliament
for Carnarvon Boroughs
In office
10 April 1890 – 13 February 1945
Preceded byEdmund Swetenham[1]
Succeeded bySeaborne Davies
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
In office
1 January 1945 – 26 March 1945
Hereditary peerage
Preceded bypeerage created
Succeeded byThe 2nd Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor
Personal details
Born(1863-01-17)17 January 1863
Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, Lancashire, England
Died26 March 1945(1945-03-26) (aged 82)
Tŷ Newydd, Caernarfonshire, Wales
Resting placeLlanystumdwy, Gwynedd, Wales
CitizenshipBritish
NationalityWelsh
Political partyLiberal (1890–1916 and 1924–45)
National Liberal (1922–23)
Spouse(s)
  • (m. 1888; died 1941)
  • (m. 1943)
Children5, including Richard, Gwilym and Lady Megan
Parents
  • William George
  • Elizabeth Lloyd
Professionsolicitor, politician
SignatureCursive signature in ink

Early life

change

Lloyd George was born in Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, Lancashire, England to Welsh parents. His father, who died before Lloyd George was two-years old, was a teacher and a farmer. When he was young, he lived with his mother and his brother. When he was 21, Lloyd George became a lawyer and opened an office in the back of his brother's house.

Political career

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Lloyd George's law practice was a success. Shortly after opening it, Lloyd George became interested in politics. He began working with the Liberal Party. He was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) on 13 April 1890. Lloyd George would serve as an MP until 1945. In the House of Commons, Lloyd George worked to promote Welsh issues, fought against the Second Boer War and campaigned for education reform.

In 1905, Lloyd George was selected to become a cabinet minister. He served as President of the Board of Trade (1905–1908) and Chancellor of the Exchequer (1908–1915). After World War I started, he held the positions of Minister of Munitions (1915) and War Secretary (1916).

By the end of 1916, the war was going badly for Great Britain. Lloyd George gathered together a coalition (a type of political team) of Liberal and Conservative MPs to form a new government. On 5 December 1916, Prime Minister H. H. Asquith resigned, and Lloyd George took his place. Lloyd George's government introduced conscription (forcing men to join the armed forces) and rationing (placing limits on the amount of food someone can buy) by the end of the war.

After the war, Lloyd George represented Britain at the Versailles Peace Conference and helped create the Irish Free State. By 1922, Lloyd George's coalition was breaking apart. In October 1922, the Conservative Party led by Andrew Bonar Law won the election. Lloyd George remained an MP, however, until 1945.

In 1945, he was given the titles Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor and Viscount Gwynedd. He was to take a seat in the House of Lords, but he died before he could do so.

 
David Lloyd George by William Orpen

References

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  1. "David Lloyd George Exhibition". National Library of Wales. March 1995. Retrieved 14 February 2016.

Notes

  1. Under the rules governing titles within the peerage, Lloyd George's name in his title was hyphenated even though his surname was not.