Macmillan's cabinet
The Macmillan Cabinet was formed in the United Kingdom on January 10, 1957 by Prime Minister Harold Macmillan of the Conservative Party and replaced the Eden Cabinet . All members belonged to the Conservative Party.
Reigned 1957 to 1963
Prime Minister Anthony Eden had previously resigned on January 9, 1957 due to the Suez Crisis . On April 30, 1958, came through the Life Peerages Act 1958 to introduce the Life peers that unlike the previous Erbadligen (Heritary peers) a seat in the upper house ( House of Lords ) were awarded only for life. In addition, female nobles were given the right to take their family's seat in the upper house. In August and September 1958 race riots broke out in the London borough of Notting Hill and in Nottingham .
In the general election on October 8, 1959 , Macmillan's Conservative Tories emerged victorious and received 345 of the 630 seats in the House of Commons , while the opposition Labor Party received 258 seats. The remaining 27 seats in the lower house went to smaller parties like the National Liberal Party , which received 20 seats. One of the reasons for the Conservative Party's third successive election was the booming economy , which Macmillan illustrated with his slogan “You never had it so good” . There was a major reshuffle of the cabinet after the elections. Due to its Eurosceptic attitude, Great Britain established the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) on January 4, 1960 as an alternative to the European Economic Community (EEC) .
With a speech to the National Assembly of South Africa on the meaning of a new African nationalism ("Winds of change") , Macmillan initiated the rapid withdrawal of Great Britain from its African colonies . In the course of the African year 1960 , the two colonies of British Somaliland and Nigeria were granted independence. On November 17, 1960, a cabinet decision of 1957 was implemented and general conscription was repealed. After growing economic difficulties, the government ordered a general wage freeze until April 1962 in July 1961, but this was largely ineffective and met with widespread resistance and rejection from the population. Because of this economic situation, Macmillan's government tried to join the EEC for economic reasons. This project was approved by the House of Commons with the Labor Party abstaining, so that an official application for membership was made on August 10, 1961.
On February 27, 1962, the Macmillan Cabinet took the first steps to curb immigration after the number of annual immigrants from the Commonwealth of Nations exceeded 100,000. To further combat the economic crisis, the National Economic Development Council , NEDC, was established on March 7, 1962 , in which the government and social partners were involved. Another cabinet reshuffle followed as part of the so-called " Night of the Long Knives" on July 13, 1962 when Macmillan, due to the falling polls of the Conservative Party, several ministers such as David Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir and Selwyn Lloyd fired. Nonetheless, unemployment rose to 878,000 unemployed in the winter of 1962/1963 and thus reached the highest level since 1945. On January 14, 1963, the veto of French President Charles de Gaulle finally rejected British full membership in the EEC.
At the end of Macmillan's term of office, the Profumo affair came about , which ultimately led to his resignation on October 13, 1963. Thereupon it came on 19 October 1963 on the formation of a new government by Alec Douglas-Home , which was enforced by Macmillan through clever tactics and against manifold internal party opposition to succeed.
minister
The Cabinet consisted of the following ministers:
| Office | Surname | Beginning of the term of office | Term expires |
|---|---|---|---|
| prime minister | Harold Macmillan | January 10, 1959 | October 13, 1963 |
| First State Secretary | Rab butler | July 13, 1962 | October 18, 1963 |
| Lord President of the Council |
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury Alec Douglas-Home, 14th Earl of Home Quintin Hogg, 2nd Viscount Hailsham Alec Douglas-Home, 14th Earl of Home Quintin Hogg, 2nd Viscount Hailsham |
January 13, 1957 March 29, 1957 September 17, 1957 October 14, 1959 July 27, 1960 |
March 29, 1957 September 17, 1957 October 14, 1959 July 27, 1960 October 20, 1963 |
| Lord Chancellor |
David Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir Reginald Manningham-Buller, 1st Baron Dilhorne |
January 14, 1957 July 13, 1962 |
July 13, 1962 October 20, 1963 |
| Lord Seal Keeper | Rab Butler Quintin Hogg, 2nd Viscount Hailsham Edward Heath |
January 13, 1957 October 14, 1959 July 27, 1960 |
October 14, 1959 July 27, 1960 October 20, 1963 |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer |
Peter Thorneycroft Derick Heathcoat-Amory Selwyn Lloyd Reginald Maudling |
January 13, 1957 January 6, 1958 July 27, 1960 July 13, 1962 |
January 6, 1958 July 27, 1960 July 13, 1962 October 20, 1963 |
| Foreign minister | Selwyn Lloyd Alec Douglas-Home, 14th Earl of Home |
January 13, 1957 July 27, 1960 |
July 27, 1960 October 20, 1963 |
| Interior minister | Rab butler Henry Brooke |
January 13, 1957 July 13, 1962 |
July 13, 1962 October 20, 1963 |
| Minister for Agriculture and Food | Derick Heathcoat-Amory John Hare Christopher Soames |
January 14, 1957 January 6, 1958 July 27, 1960 |
January 6, 1958 July 27, 1960 October 20, 1963 |
| Aviation Minister |
Duncan Sandys Peter Thorneycroft |
October 14, 1959 July 27, 1960 |
July 27, 1960 July 13, 1962 |
| Minister for the Colonies |
Alan Lennox-Boyd Iain Macleod Reginald Maudling Duncan Sandys |
January 14, 1957 October 14, 1959 October 9, 1961 July 13, 1962 |
October 14, 1959 October 9, 1961 July 13, 1962 October 20, 1963 |
| Minister for Relations with the Commonwealth | Alec Douglas-Home, 14th Earl of Home Duncan Sandys |
January 14, 1957 July 27, 1960 |
July 27, 1960 October 20, 1963 |
| Defense Minister | Duncan Sandys Harold Watkinson Peter Thorneycroft |
January 13, 1957 October 14, 1959 July 13, 1962 |
October 14, 1959 July 13, 1962 October 20, 1963 |
| Minister of Education | Quintin Hogg, 2nd Viscount Hailsham Geoffrey Lloyd David Eccles Edward Boyle |
January 13, 1957 September 17, 1957 October 14, 1959 July 13, 1962 |
September 17, 1957 October 14, 1959 July 13, 1962 October 20, 1963 |
| Minister for Housing and Local Government | Henry Brooke Charles Hill Keith Joseph |
January 13, 1957 October 9, 1961 July 13, 1962 |
October 9, 1961 July 13, 1962 October 20, 1963 |
| Minister for Wales | Henry Brooke Charles Hill Keith Joseph |
January 13, 1957 October 9, 1961 July 13, 1962 |
October 9, 1961 July 13, 1962 October 20, 1963 |
| Minister of Labor and National Service | Iain Macleod Edward Heath John Hare |
January 14, 1957 October 14, 1959 July 27, 1960 |
October 14, 1959 July 27, 1960 October 20, 1963 |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | Charles Hill Iain Macleod |
January 13, 1957 October 9, 1961 |
October 9, 1961 October 20, 1963 |
| Paymaster General | Reginald Maudling Percy Mills, 1st Baron Mills Henry Brooke John Boyd-Carpenter |
September 17, 1957 October 14, 1959 October 9, 1961 July 13, 1962 |
October 14, 1959 October 9, 1961 July 13, 1962 October 20, 1963 |
| Energy minister | Percy Mills, 1st Baron Mills | January 13, 1957 | October 14, 1959 |
| Minister for Scotland |
John Maclay Michael Noble |
January 13, 1957 July 13, 1962 |
July 13, 1962 October 20, 1963 |
| Minister of Commerce | David Eccles Reginald Maudling Frederick Erroll |
January 13, 1957 October 14, 1959 October 9, 1961 |
October 14, 1959 October 9, 1961 October 20, 1963 |
| Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation | Harold Watkinson Ernest Marples |
January 13, 1957 October 14, 1959 |
October 14, 1959 October 20, 1963 |
| Minister of Health | Enoch Powell | July 13, 1962 | October 20, 1963 |
| Chief Secretary of the Treasury | Henry Brooke John Boyd-Carpenter |
October 9, 1961 July 13, 1962 |
July 13, 1962 July 13, 1962 |
| Minister with no portfolio | Percy Mills, 1st Baron Mills Bill Deedes |
October 9, 1961 July 13, 1962 |
July 13, 1962 October 20, 1963 |
| Science Minister | Quintin Hogg, 2nd Viscount Hailsham | October 14, 1959 | October 20, 1963 |
Background literature
- The big Ploetz. The encyclopedia of world history , Verlag Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 35th edition, 2008, p. 1511, ISBN 978-3-525-32008-2
Web links
- CABINET MACMILLAN 13.1.1957 - 14.10.1959
- CABINET MACMILLAN 2 10/14/1959 - 10/20/1963
- United Kingdom: Ministries, political parties (rulers.org)