William Hayes Fisher, 1st Baron Downham
William Hayes Fisher, 1st Baron Downham PC KGStJ (* 1853 in Downham , Norfolk ; † July 2, 1920 in the garden of Buckingham Palace , London ) was a British politician of the Conservative Party , who was active between 1885 and 1906 and again from 1910 to 1918 Was a member of the House of Commons . In 1918 he was raised to the hereditary nobility ( Hereditary Peerage ) as Baron Downham and was a member of the House of Lords until his death . Among other things, he was Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster between 1918 and 1919 .
Life
Lawyer and Member of the House of Commons
Fisher was the son of the clergyman Frederick Fisher and his wife Mary Hayes and completed his education at Haileybury College . He then completed an undergraduate degree at University College London (UCL), which he completed in 1876 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA). A subsequent postgraduate course at University College London, he finished in 1878 with a Master of Arts (MA). In 1879 he was admitted to the bar ( Inns of Court ) of Inner Temple and then took up a position as a lawyer (Barrister-at-Law) .
On November 24, 1885 Fisher was first elected as a candidate of the Conservative Party to a member of the House of Commons and represented in this until January 12, 1906 the constituency of Fulham . On August 3, 1886, he was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Michael Hicks Beach , the Ireland Secretary ( Chief Secretary for Ireland ) in the cabinet of Prime Minister Robert Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury , and has held this post until 1887. Following was between 1887 and August 15, 1892 Private Secretary to Ireland Secretary Arthur James Balfour , succeeding Hicks in the cabinet of the Marquess of Salisbury.
After Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, formed his third cabinet as Prime Minister on June 25, 1895, Fisher was both Parliamentary Secretary (Government Whip ) and Finance Secretary to the Treasury, and held both offices until the end of Salisbury's tenure on July 11, 1902. In the subsequent government of Prime Minister Arthur James Balfour, he continued to serve as Finance Secretary to the Treasury between 1902 and 1903.
Minister and Member of the House of Lords
After retiring from the House of Fisher was 1907-1913 Councilor (Alderman) of the City of London . On January 15, 1910, he was again a member of the lower house for the conservative Tories and again represented the constituency of Fulham until December 14, 1918 . In 1911 he became a member of the Privy Council (PC) and served as Parliamentary Secretary in a ministry between 1915 and 1917. On June 28, 1917, he was appointed by Prime Minister David Lloyd George to succeed Walter Long as President of the Local Government Board in his coalition government and held this ministerial office until his replacement by Auckland Geddes on November 4, 1918.
On November 4, 1918, Fisher succeeded Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster by Prime Minister Lloyd George and held this office until he was replaced by David Lindsay, 27th Earl of Crawford until January 10, 1919. At the same time, on November 4, 1918, he also succeeded Baron Beaverbrook as Minister of Information and remained in this position until the ministerial office was dissolved on January 10, 1919.
By a letters patent from November 16, 1918 Fisher, who was also Knight of the Grace of the Order of Saint John (KGStJ), as Baron Downham , of Fulham in the County of London, in the hereditary nobility (Hereditary Peerage) of the peerage of the United Kingdom and was as such a member of the House of Lords until his death on July 2, 1920. During this time he was in 1919 Chairman of the City Council of London (London City Council) and served temporarily as CEO of the insurer Eagle Insurance Company .
His daughter Rachel Florence Fisher emerged from his marriage to Florence Fisher in 1895. Since he died without male descendants, the title of Baron Downham expired with his death.
Web links
- Mr William Fisher at Hansard (English)
- Peerage: Downham in Leigh Rayment Peerage
- William Hayes Fisher, 1st and last Baron Downham, on thepeerage.com , accessed September 13, 2016.
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Title created |
Baron Downham 1918-1920 |
Title expired |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Fisher, William Hayes, 1st Baron Downham |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British politician, Member of the House of Commons and member of the House of Lords |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1853 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Downham , Norfolk |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 2, 1920 |
| Place of death | Buckingham Palace Garden , London |