Robert Arthur James Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury KGThe Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry, or knighthood, originating in medieval England, and presently bestowed on recipients in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms; it is the pinnacle of the honours system in the United Kingdom...
, PC (27 August 1893 – 23 February 1972), known as
Viscount Cranborne from 1903 to 1947, was a British
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
politician.
Background
Nicknamed "Bobbety", Salisbury was the eldest son of
James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of SalisburyJames Edward Hubert Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury KG, GCVO, CB, PC , known as Viscount Cranborne from 1868 to 1903, was a British statesman.-Background and education:...
, by his wife Lady Cicely, daughter of
Arthur Gore, 5th Earl of ArranArthur Saunders Gore, 5th Earl of Arran KP , known as Viscount Sudley from 1839 to 1884, was an Anglo-Irish peer and diplomat.Arran was the eldest son of Philip Yorke Gore, 4th Earl of Arran, and Elizabeth Marianne Napier...
. He was the grandson of Prime Minister
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of SalisburyRobert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, KG, GCVO, PC , known as Lord Robert Cecil before 1865 and as Viscount Cranborne from 1865 until 1868, was a British statesman and thrice Prime Minister, serving for a total of over 13 years...
.
Political career
Salisbury was elected to the
House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 646 members, who are known as "Members...
for South Dorset in 1929, and served as Joint Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 1935 to 1938, as
Paymaster-GeneralHM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the United Kingdom. The Paymaster General is in charge of the Office of HM Paymaster General , which holds accounts at the Bank of England on behalf of Government departments and selected other public bodies...
in 1940 and as
Secretary of State for Dominion AffairsThe position of Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs was a British cabinet level position created in 1925 to deal with British relations with the Dominions — Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland, and the Irish Free State, as well as the self-governing colony of...
from 1940 to 1942. In 1941 he was summoned to the
House of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords". Parliament comprises the Sovereign, the House of Commons , and the Lords...
through a
writ of accelerationA writ in acceleration, commonly called a writ of acceleration was a type of writ of summons to the House of Lords that enabled the eldest son and heir apparent of a peer with multiple peerage titles to attend the British House of Lords or Irish House of Lords, using one of his father's subsidiary...
in his father's junior title of Baron Cecil. He was
Secretary of State for the ColoniesThe Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet official in charge of managing the various British colonies. The position was first created in 1768 to deal with the increasingly troublesome North American colonies...
in 1942,
Lord Privy SealThe Lord Privy Seal or Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and above the Lord Great Chamberlain. The office is one of the traditional sinecure offices of state...
between 1942 and 1943,
Leader of the House of LordsLeader of the House of Lords is a function in the British government that is always held in combination with a formal Cabinet position, most often Lord President of the Council, Lord Privy Seal or Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. The Leader of the House takes charge of the government's...
between 1942 and 1945 and again Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs between 1943 and 1945. In 1947 he succeeded his father in the marquessate.
During the 1950's he held office under successively
Winston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He served as Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer...
,
Anthony EdenRobert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Foreign Secretary for three periods between 1935 and 1955, including during World War II...
, and
Harold MacmillanMaurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was a British Conservative politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
as Lord Privy Seal from 1951 to 1952, Leader of the House of Lords from 1951 to 1957,
Secretary of State for Commonwealth RelationsThe Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations was a British Cabinet office existing between 1947 and 1966, responsible for dealing with British relationship with members of the Commonwealth of Nations . The position was created out of the old position of Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs...
in 1952 and
Lord President of the CouncilThe Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above the Lord Privy Seal. The Lord President has the responsibility of presiding over meetings of the Privy Council...
from 1952 to 1957. He was known as a hardline imperialist. In 1952, as Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations, he tried to make permanent the exile of
Seretse KhamaSir Seretse Khama, KBE was an African stateman. Born into the royal family of what was then the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, and educated abroad in neighbouring South Africa and in the United Kingdom, he returned home -- with a popular but controversial bride -- to lead his country's...
,
kgosi of the
BamangwatoThe Bamangwato people are one of the eight principal tribes of Botswana, and constitute some 25 percent of the country's population. Modern Bangwato formed in the Central District, with its main town and capital at Serowe...
people in Bechuanaland, for marrying a white British woman. During the 1960s, Lord Salisbury continued to be a staunch defender of the white-dominated governments in
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
and in
Southern RhodesiaSouthern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa, and known today as Zimbabwe.-Origin as 'Rhodesia':...
(now
ZimbabweZimbabwe , is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers...
). He was also a fierce opponent of liberal-left attempts to reform the House of Lords, yet he created what is known as the
Salisbury ConventionThe Salisbury Convention is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom which puts forward that the House of Lords will not oppose the second or third reading of any government legislation promised in its election manifesto.In its modern form, it was introduced by Lord Salisbury, the...
. In 1961 he became the first president of the
Conservative Monday ClubThe Conservative Monday Club is a British pressure-group "on the right-wing of the Conservative Party".-Overview:...
, a post he held until his death.
Other public appointments
Apart from his political career Salisbury was Chancellor of the
University of LiverpoolThe University of Liverpool is a university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group and the N8 Group for research collaboration, and founded in 1881 it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic universities...
from 1951 until 1971 and
Chancellor of the Order of the GarterThe Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry, or knighthood, originating in medieval England, and presently bestowed on recipients in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms; it is the pinnacle of the honours system in the United Kingdom...
between 1960 and 1972.
Family
Lord Salisbury married Elizabeth Vere Cavendish, daughter of Lord Richard Cavendish, in 1951. They had three sons. The second son, the Hon. Michael Charles James Cecil (1918-1934) died as an adolescent while the third son the Hon. Richard Hugh Cecil (1924-1944) was killed in the Second World War.
Lord Salisbury died in February 1972, aged 78, and was succeeded by his eldest and only surviving son,
RobertRobert Edward Peter Gascoyne-Cecil, 6th Marquess of Salisbury was the son of Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury. Prior to succeeding his father in the Marquessate, he had been Conservative Member of Parliament for Bournemouth West...
. Lady Salisbury died in 1982.
External links
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