David Lloyd George

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

David Lloyd George
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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 the First World War. He was Prime Minister for six years, between 1916 and 1922.

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Early life

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

Political career

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 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 the First World War 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 the Britsih. 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 Herbert 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 goods that people can buy) by the end of the war.

After the war, Lloyd George represented Britain at the Paris 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.

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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.
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David Lloyd George by William Orpen

References

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