Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster

Geoffrey William Richard Hugh FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster KBE PC KStJ ( February 17, 1906 , † August 27, 1975 ) was a British Conservative Party politician who , among other things, was Paymaster General between 1938 and 1939 and Minister from 1954 to 1957 without portfolio and last from 1957 to 1973 Lord Lieutenant of Surrey was.

Life

Family background, Earl of Munster and Paymaster General

Fitz-Clarence was the only son of Harold Edward FitzClarence, the seventh child of William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster, and completed his education at the prestigious Charterhouse School . He then served in the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) and was most recently promoted to captain .

Upon the death of his uncle Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster , he inherited his title of nobility as 5th Earl of Munster , 5th Viscount FitzClarence and 5th Baron Tewkesbury on January 1, 1928 . Associated with this was membership in the House of Lords . In the House of Lords he was between 1932 and 1938 Parliamentary Director of the parliamentary group of the ruling Conservative Party (Government Whip ) . At the same time he was from 1931 to 1937 as a member of the London County Council (LCC) as a member of the constituency of North Paddington .

During the tenure of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain , he was from 1938 to 1939, first Paymaster General ( Paymaster General ) and 1939 briefly Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the War Office, and at the same time Vice President of the Army Council (Army Council) .

World War II, Post War and Lord Lieutenant of Surrey

After the beginning of the Second World War he was recalled to active military service as a major in the Grenadier Guards in 1939 and served as aide-de-camp (ADC) for Field Marshal John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort , who was last governor of 1941-1942 Gibraltar was. For his military services he was mentioned twice in the war report in 1939 and 1942 ( Mentioned in Despatches ) .

Subsequently, during the tenure of Prime Minister Winston Churchill between 1943 and 1944, he was first Parliamentary Undersecretary in the Ministry for India and Burma ( Office for India and Burma ) and then for some time in 1944 Parliamentary Undersecretary in the Ministry of the Interior ( Home Office ) . After the end of the war, he was again Parliamentary Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of the Interior between May and July 1945.

After the election victory of the conservative Tories in the general election of October 25, 1951 and the beginning of the second term of Prime Minister Churchill was Fitzclarence in November 1954 Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Colonial Office ( Colonial Office ) and held this position until October 1954. He then was under reshuffle, Minister without Portfolio in the Churchill Cabinet and held this office under Churchill's successors Anthony Eden and Harold Macmillan until June 1957.

FitzClarence, who was knighted in 1954 as a member of the Privy Council (PC) and knighted as Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1957, was Lord Lieutenant of Surrey between 1957 and 1973 and thus Queen Elizabeth II's personal representative in this County . For his services he was also awarded the Knight of Justice of the Order of Saint John (KStJ) and the Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Belgium .

Since his marriage to Hilary Wilson on July 9, 1928 did not result in any children, his second cousin Edward FitzClarence inherited his title of nobility as 6th Earl of Munster on his death .

Web links

• Mr Geoffrey Fitz-Clarence in the Hansard (English)
• Entry in Cracroft's Peerage
• Entry in Leighrayment
• Geoffrey William Richard Hugh Fitz-Clarence, 5th Earl of Munster on thepeerage.com

predecessor	Office	successor
Aubrey FitzClarence	Earl of Munster 1928-1975	Edward FitzClarence