Enoch Powell

British politician (1912–1998)

John Enoch Powell, MBE (16 June 1912 – 8 February 1998) was a British politician in the Conservative Party.


Enoch Powell

Portrait taken by Allan Warren
Minister of Health
In office
27 July 1960 – 18 October 1963
Prime MinisterHarold Macmillan
Preceded byDerek Walker-Smith
Succeeded byAnthony Barber
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
In office
1957–1958
Prime MinisterHarold Macmillan
Preceded byHenry Brooke
Succeeded byJack Simon
Shadow Defence Secretary
In office
July 1965 – 21 April 1968
LeaderEdward Heath
Preceded byPeter Thorneycroft
Succeeded byReginald Maudling
Member of Parliament
for South Down
In office
10 October 1974 – 11 June 1987
Preceded byLawrence Orr
Succeeded byEddie McGrady
Member of Parliament
for Wolverhampton South West
In office
23 February 1950 – 28 February 1974
Preceded byConstituency Created
Succeeded byNicholas Budgen
Personal details
Born
John Enoch Powell

(1912-06-16)June 16, 1912
Birmingham, England
DiedFebruary 8, 1998(1998-02-08) (aged 85)
London, England
NationalityBritish (but registered as an Australian (then under common citizenship) when he joined the Army)
Political partyConservative (1950–74)
Ulster Unionist (1974–87)
Spouse(s)Pamela Wilson (m. 1952–98, his death)
Children2 daughters
Alma materTrinity College, Cambridge
SOAS
OccupationMember of Parliament 1950–87
Conservative Research Department 1945–50
Professor of Greek at Sydney University 1937–39
ProfessionPolitician,
Classical scholar,
Poet, published works 1937, 1939, 1951.
AwardsBAR.svg British War Medal
Africa Star
Military OBE
Military service
Allegiance United Kingdom
Branch/service British Army
Royal Warwickshire Regiment
General Service Corps
Intelligence Corps
Years of service1939–45
RankPrivate in 1939
Brigadier by 1945
Battles/warsWorld War II
North African Campaign
India

Early life

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Powell was born on June 16, 1912 in Birmingham, England and raised there.[1] He studied at Trinity College, Cambridge and at School of Oriental and African Studies.

Before becoming a politician, Powell was a professor of Ancient Greek at Sydney University, Australia. When World War II, started he joined the British Army in 1939 as a private but, by 1945, had been promoted to Brigadier.

Political career

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He was elected to the House of Commons in 1950, and was a government minister in 1957-1958 and again between 1960 and 1963. In 1962 when he was Minister of Health he launched the Hospital Plan which had plans for 90 new hospitals, 134 to be rebuilt and about 1000 more small hospitals to be closed - the biggest building programme the NHS had seen.[2]

He made a speech in 1968 in which he said that if the United Kingdom let too many immigrants live there, there would be fighting in the streets.[3]

In 1974 he left the Conservative Party before the February election, and became an MP in Northern Ireland for the Ulster Unionist Party in October 1974.

Personal life

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Powell was married to Pamela Wilson from 1952 until his death in 1998. They had two daughters.

Powell was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1992. He died on February 8, 1998 in London, England from the illness, aged 85.[4] He is buried at Warwick Cemetery, Warwick, Warwickshire, England.[5]

References

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  1. Griffiths, David, Enoch Powell, UK, archived from the original (Official portrait) on 2007-09-28, retrieved 2012-12-13
  2. Abel-Smith, Brian (1978). National Health Service The first thirty years. London: HMSO. ISBN 0113202490.
  3. Stacey, Tom (1970). Immigration and Enoch Powell. London. OCLC 151226.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. "Obituary of Enoch Powell". The Daily Telegraph. London. 9 February 1998.
  5. Powell's grave in Warwick Cemetery (photos), Find a Grave

Other websites

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