Duncan Sandys

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Duncan Edwin Sandys, Baron Duncan-Sandys (pronounced "sands") CH PC (born January 24, 1908 , † November 26, 1987 ) was a British diplomat and Conservative Party politician . He served as a minister in successive conservative governments during a period of decolonization . He was strongly committed to European integration in the current sense and is therefore still considered a “European” politician. He was the son-in-law of Sir Winston Churchill .

Life

Youth and World War II

Sandys was the son of a Conservative member of the House of Commons , was in boarding school Eton educated and studied at Magdalen College of Oxford University . He entered the diplomatic service in 1930 and served at the British Embassy in Berlin . He became a MP for Lambeth, Norwood in south London in 1935 . On September 16, 1935, he married Diana Churchill (1909–1963), eldest daughter of the future Prime Minister .

During the Second World War he fought with the British expeditionary units against the German occupation of Norway and was wounded in the process; He suffered from a walking disability all his life. In 1941, his father-in-law gave him a government post as Secretary of State for Finance in the War Office . From November 1944 to July 1945, Sandys served as Minister of Works in the Churchill War and Transitional Governments . From 1943 he was also chairman of a committee for defense against German airplanes, bombs and missiles in the war cabinet, the so-called Crossbow Committee. It was listed as D122: Dunkan-Sendys on the special wanted list GB of the Reich Security Main Office , d. that is, in the event of an occupation of England, he should be automatically arrested by the SS. The scheduled in July 1945 general election he lost his seat in parliament and the minister.

post war period

Old flag of the European movement designed by Duncan Sandys

Sandys was responsible for the European movement in Great Britain in 1947. That year, Duncan Sandys founded the UK national United Europe Movement (UEM) with the help of Winston Churchill . The flag design by Duncan Sandys shows a green (originally red) "E" on a white background. The European flag was first hoisted in 1949 at a European economic conference in London . It was rejected because too little emotional binding power was ascribed to a pure letter symbol. Moreover, mockers referred to them as "Mister Sandys' Pants" or "Churchill's underwear" when viewed in reverse (white against a green background). From 1950 to 1951 he was again a member of the European Council as a member of the British Parliament .

Other activities


Standing fourth from the right in Churchill's 1955 cabinet

After the Conservatives came back to government, Sandys took over the Ministry of Military Procurement in 1951 ; his Secretary of State was Jack Charles. In his later tenure as Minister for Housing, the Clean Air Act was passed and Sandys campaigned for the creation of green belts in cities. He was Minister of Defense from 1957 to 1959. In the White Paper on Defense he published , a radical restructuring of the Royal Air Force was called for: modern guided weapons should be used in place of combat aircraft. As Secretary of Defense, he also pursued the rationalization of the UK military aircraft and engineering industries. From 1959 to 1960 he was Minister of Aviation . From 1960 to 1964 he was Minister for Commonwealth Affairs , from 1962 also responsible for the colonies. During this time he negotiated the release of several colonies to independence , including Malta and Cyprus .

Private life

Sandys had four daughters with his wife. In 1960 Sandys divorced her and married Marie-Claire Schmitt, with whom he remained married until his death. There has long been speculation as to whether Sandys was the headless man depicted in a scandalous photo that played a major role in the 1963 high-profile divorce process of the Scottish Duchess Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll . In the photo, a man was depicted completely undressed, but the man's head was not visible.

literature

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personal data
SURNAME Sandys, Duncan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sandys, Duncan Edwin (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British politician and minister
DATE OF BIRTH January 24, 1908
DATE OF DEATH November 26, 1987