The second son of the 14th Earl of Derby, British politician and Prime Minister, Frederick Stanley entered politics after having studied at Eton College and Sandhurst. He served briefly as an officer with the Grenadier Guards, but his family's prominent role in British politics soon called him to political life. He was returned as a Conservative Member of Parliament for Preston (1865-1868), Lancashire, North (1868-1885), and Lancashire, Blackpool (1885-1886). Stanley briefly served as Lord of the Admiralty (1868) and Financial Secretary to the War Office (1874-1877) and to the Treasury (1877-1878). He held a number of government offices as Secretary of State for War (1878-1880) in the second administration of Bejamin Disraeli, Secretary of State for the Colonies (1885-1886) and President of the Board of Trade (1886-1888) in the cabinets of Marquess of Salisbury. Stanley helped cement the non-political role of the Governor General when he refused to agree to a controversial motion in the House of Commons. The motion called on him to oppose the Jesuit Estates Bill passed by the government of Québec, but Stanley declined to interfere. Although a strong advocate of closer ties between Great Britain and dominions such as Canada, he was a publicly shy and politically careful governor general. He is primarily remembered for his donation in 1893 of the Stanley Cup, designed to determine a Canadian hockey champion in a fair and uniform manner. Stanley's term as governor general was due to end, when his older brother, the 15th Earl of Derby, died (21 Apr 1893). As a result, he left Canada on 15 Jul 1893 and returned to England. An Administrator was appointed to fulfill his duties until the Earl of Aberdeen was sworn in on 18 Sep 1893. Back with his family in England, the 16th Earl of Derby soon became the Lord Mayor of Liverpool and the first chancellor of the University of Liverpool. During the last years of his life, he increasingly dedicated himself to philanthropic work. |
