Edward Boyle, Baron Boyle of Handsworth

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Edward Charles Gurney Boyle, Baron Boyle of Handsworth CH PC (born August 31, 1923 in Kensington , London , † September 28, 1981 in Leeds , Yorkshire ) was a British Conservative Party politician who was a member of the House of Commons for twenty years and in 1970 became a Life Peer member of the House of Lords under the Life Peerages Act 1958 . As Minister of Education between 1962 and 1964, Boyle had a decisive influence on the educational policy stance of the conservative Tories at the beginning of the 1960s and was most recently Vice Chancellor of the University of Leeds from 1970 until his death in 1981 .

Life

Family background and member of the House of Commons

He was the son of Sir Edward Boyle, 2nd Baronet, who in 1909 had inherited the title Baronet , of Ockham in the County of Sussex, created in 1904 from his father , and who in 1915 was Commissioner in Serbia . Boyle himself began studying at Christ Church at the University of Oxford after attending Eton College and inherited his father's title of 3rd baronet when his father died on March 31, 1945. In 1949 he completed his studies with a Bachelor of Arts (BA).

After the death of his party colleague Harold Roberts on September 28, 1950 Boyle was a candidate of the Conservative Party in a by-election ( by-election ) in the constituency Birmingham Handsworth first elected on 16 November 1950 for the MPs in the House of Commons and represented that constituency by re-elections at the next general election for nearly twenty years until the election on 18 June 1970 .

Junior minister

After the victory of the Conservatives in the general election on October 25, 1951 , he was first Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Parliamentary Undersecretary of State in the Aviation Ministry and was then in 1952 Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Defense Minister. In 1954 he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Supply , before he took over the function of Economic Secretary in the Treasury ( HM Treasury ) between as successor to Reginald Maudling in 1955 and his replacement by Derek Walker-Smith in 1956 the fifth highest government post in this ministry. From his function as economic secretary he resigned as representative of the liberal wing of the Tories in the fall of 1956 in protest because of the Suez crisis . However, two months later he returned to the government and was Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education between 1957 and 1959 .

During this time Boyle completed postgraduate studies at Christ Church, University of Oxford, which he completed in 1959 with a Master of Arts (MA). He also served as President of the Oxford Union in 1959.

In 1959 he succeeded Jocelyn Simon as Financial Secretary of the Treasury and held the fourth highest office in the Treasury until he was replaced by Anthony Barber in 1962.

Minister of Education

On July 13, 1962, Boyle, who also became Privy Councilor in 1962 , was appointed by Prime Minister Harold Macmillan to succeed David Eccles as Minister of Education and held this post until he was replaced by Quintin McGarel Hogg on April 1, 1964 , who in turn was Secretary of State for Education and Science . Between April 1 and the end of the term of office of the new Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home on October 16, 1964, he was Minister of State in the Ministry of Education and Science and thus one of Minister Hogg's closest collaborators. It was also during this period that a decree was passed that allowed school children to stay away from class in the event of a nuclear attack on Britain.

His widely recognized work as Minister of Education was characterized by a humanistic pragmatism that considered the development of personality to be the most important concern of education. Under his influence on the educational policies of the Conservative Party in the early 1960s, the Conservative Tories changed their rigid defense of classical grammar schools to a more pragmatic approach to reorganizing secondary education . On the other hand, his ministerial tenure ended a twenty-year expansion of care, but also of expectations of education.

After the election defeat of the Conservative Party in the general election on October 15, 1964 , Boyle was appointed by party chairman Edward Heath in his shadow cabinet , where he took over the function of spokesman for the opposition for education ( Shadow Education Secretary ). He held this position until he announced his retirement from politics in 1969 and was then replaced by Margaret Thatcher .

For his services he was in 1965 by the University of Leeds and the University of Southampton each have a honorary doctorate of law degree awarded (Hon. LL.D.). He received another honorary doctorate in law from the University of Bath in 1968 .

Vice Chancellor of the University of Leeds and Member of the House of Lords

The main building ( Parkinson Building ) of the University of Leeds , of which Baron Boyle was Vice Chancellor between 1970 and 1981

After leaving the House of Commons, Boyle succeeded Roger Bentham Stevens as Vice Chancellor of the University of Leeds in 1970 and held this office until his death. At the same time he was between 1970 and his death in 1981 one of the trustee ( Trustee ) of the British Museum .

Through a letters patent dated July 3, 1970, Boyle was under the Life Peerages Act 1958 as a life peer with the title Baron Boyle of Handsworth , of Salehurst in the County of Sussex, a member of the House of Lords and was a member until his death.

In 1972 he was awarded another honorary doctorate in law from the University of Sussex and in 1981 from the University of Liverpool . In 1981 Baron Boyle became a member of the Order of the Companions of Honor (CH) consisting of a maximum of 65 people .

While his peerage lapsed on his death, his younger brother Richard Gurney Boyle succeeded him as 4th Baronet.

The Edward Boyle Library at the University of Leeds was named in his honor.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ John Campbell: Edward Heath: A Biography , 2013, ISBN 1-409-03996-X , p. 93.
  2. ↑ Article in Der Spiegel from April 8, 1964.
  3. ^ John Campbell: Edward Heath: A Biography , 2013, ISBN 1-409-03996-X , pp. 105, 214, 236, 385.
  4. ^ Homepage of the University of Leeds
personal data
SURNAME Boyle, Edward, Baron Boyle of Handsworth
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Boyle, Edward Charles Gurney, Baron Boyle of Handsworth (full name); Sir Edward Boyle, 3rd Baronet
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British politician, member of the House of Commons
DATE OF BIRTH August 31, 1923
PLACE OF BIRTH Kensington , London
DATE OF DEATH September 28, 1981
Place of death Leeds , Yorkshire