David Lloyd George

David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, 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.

The Right Honourable David Lloyd George OM PC
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 6 December 1916 – 19 October 1922
Monarch	George V
Preceded by	H. H. Asquith
Succeeded by	Bonar Law
Leader of the Liberal Party
In office 14 October 1926 – 4 November 1931
Preceded by	H. H. Asquith
Succeeded by	Herbert Samuel
Secretary of State for War
In office 6 July 1916 – 5 December 1916
Prime Minister	H. H. Asquith
Preceded by	The Earl Kitchener
Succeeded by	The Earl of Derby
Minister of Munitions
In office 25 May 1915 – 9 July 1916
Prime Minister	H. H. Asquith
Preceded by	Office created
Succeeded by	Edwin Montagu
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office 12 April 1908 – 25 May 1915
Prime Minister	H. H. Asquith
Preceded by	H. H. Asquith
Succeeded by	Reginald McKenna
President of the Board of Trade
In office 10 December 1905 – 12 April 1908
Prime Minister	Henry Campbell-Bannerman H. H. Asquith
Preceded by	The Marquess of Salisbury
Succeeded by	Winston Churchill
Father of the House
In office 31 May 1929 – 13 February 1945
Preceded by	T. P. O'Connor
Succeeded by	The Earl Winterton
Member of Parliament for Carnarvon Boroughs
In office 10 April 1890 – 13 February 1945
Preceded by	Edmund Swetenham
Succeeded by	Seaborne Davies
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal
In office 1 January 1945 – 26 March 1945 Hereditary peerage
Preceded by	peerage created
Succeeded by	The 2nd Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor
Personal details
Born	(1863-01-17)17 January 1863 Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, Lancashire, England
Died	26 March 1945(1945-03-26) (aged 82) Tŷ Newydd, Caernarfonshire, Wales
Resting place	Llanystumdwy, Gwynedd, Wales
Citizenship	British
Nationality	Welsh
Political party	Liberal (1890–1916 and 1924–45) National Liberal (1922–23)
Spouse(s)	Margaret Owen ​ ​ (m. 1888; died 1941)​ Frances Stevenson ​ ​ (m. 1943)​
Children	5, including Richard, Gwilym and Lady Megan
Parents	William George Elizabeth Lloyd
Profession	solicitor, politician
Signature

Early life

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

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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