Leonard James Callaghan

Born in the family of a Royal Navy officer; educated at Furzeham Primary School, Brixham, Devon, and the Northern Secondary School, Kingston; joined the Inland Revenue (1929), a department responsible for the collection of direct taxation; joined Labour Party (1931); played a leading role in the regional affairs of his trade union, Association of Officers of Taxes; left civil service and became assistant secretary of the Inland Revenue Staff Federation (1937); volunteered with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (1942) as ordinary seaman (East Indies Fleet, Ceylon); commissioned sub-lieutenant (temporary, 1944); appointed acting lieutenant (temporary, 1945); resigned commission (effective 30 Jun 1945); was elected to Parliament as Labour MP (South Cardiff 1945-1950, South East Cardiff 1950-1983, Cardiff South and Penarth 1983-1987); held junior posts as Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Transport (7 Oct 1947 - 2 Mar 1950) and Parliamentary and Financial Secretary, Admiralty (2 Mar 1950 - 5 Nov 1951) in the administration of Clement Attlee; served as a delegate to the Council of Europe; was a member of the the Shadow Cabinet when the Labour party was in opposition; was defeated in the election of the Leader of the Labour Party (14 Feb 1963) by Harold Wilson; following a victory of Labour in the General Election of 1964, he was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer (17 Oct 1964 - 29 Nov 1967) and sworn in as a member of the UK Privy Council (17 Oct 1964); was responsible for securing the international agreement on the 'Special Drawing Rights', internationally recognized asset for settling intergovernmental debts; resigned as Chancellor over disagreement with regard to devaluation of the pound and became Secretary of State for the Home Department (29 Nov 1967 - 22 Jun 1970); served as Chairman of the Labour Party (1973-1974); joined the second government of Wilson as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (5 Mar 1974 - 12 Apr 1976); after the announced resignation of Wilson, he was elected Leader of the Labour Party (5 Apr 1976 - 10 Nov 1980) and the same day appointed Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury (5 Apr 1976 - 4 May 1979); inherited only a small majority in the House of Commons which by early 1977 disappeared because of by-election results, forcing him to reach an agreement with the Liberal Party in order to stay in power (The Lib-Lab Pact, 1977); opted to postpone an election (1978) but disputes and strikes undermined both his administration and eventually, his majority in the House of Commons where, on 28 Mar 1979, he lost a vote of confidence (311:310); the subsequent General Election brought the defeat of the Labour Party (3 May 1979: Conservative 339, Labour 268, Liberal 11, Scottish National Party 2, Plaid Cymru 2, others 13); after serving as Leader of the Opposition (1979-1980), he resigned as party leader in 1980; was raised to the peerage (1987) and took seat in the House of Lords. Biography source: [9]