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David Lloyd-George
b. 17 Jan 1863, Manchester
d. 26 Mar 1945, Tŷ Newydd, Llanystumdwy, Caernarvonshire, Wales |
| Title: |
Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury |
| Term: |
7 Dec 1916 - 19 Oct 1922 |
| Chronology: |
6 Dec 1916, invited to form an Administration, audience of the King, Buckingham Palace, London [1] |
| |
7 Dec 1916, accepted the offer to hold the post of Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury, audience of the King, Buckingham Palace, London [2][3] |
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22 Dec 1916, took the oath of office as First Lord of the Treasury before the King in Council, Buckingham Palace, London [4][5] |
| |
19 Oct 1922, tendered resignation as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury (accepted), audience of the King, Buckingham Palace, London [6] |
| Names/titles: |
David Lloyd George ("George" indicated as last name, as per birth certificate issued at Manchester); David Lloyd-George (as per baptismal certificate issued at Criccieth) |
| |
Viscount Gwynedd, of Dwyfor in the Country of Caernarvon, and Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (from 12 Feb 1945) [7] |
| Biography: |
| Descended from the Welsh farmers, who settled in Pembrokeshire, Wales; was educated at Llanystumdwy village school (1866-1878); while still at school, he passed the preliminary examination of the Law Society (1877); at the age of 16 received a job at a firm of solicitors, Messrs. Breese, Jones and Casson, in Porthmadog (1878); passed final examinations in law in London (1884), obtaining a third-class honors degree; started his own solicitor's practice in Criccieth, Caernarvonshire (1885); was joined by with his brother, William George, in creating Lloyd-George and George, solicitors (1887); was a co-founder of a monthly paper Udgorn Rhyddid (1888); served as a Alderman of the Caernarvonshire County Council (1889-1890); was returned Liberal Member of Parliament for Caernarvon Boroughs (1890-1945); formed the Welsh National Liberal Council (1898); was sworn in as a member of the UK Privy Council (11 Dec 1905); served as President of the Board of Trade (11 Dec 1905 - 16 Apr 1908) in the Cabinet of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman and as Chancellor of the Exchequer (16 Apr 1908 - 27 May 1915) in the Cabinet of H.H. Asquith, stimulating radical social policies, in particular through his 'People's Budget' of 1909; after the outbreak of World War I, he took the office of Minister of Munitions (16 Jun 1915 - 12 Jul 1916), running it with energy and success; succeeded Earl Kitchener as Secretary of State for War (7 Jul 1916 - 11 Dec 1916), criticized the conduct of the war by the Government; seeing Asquith's inadequacy in pursuing the war he teamed up with the Unionist leader Bonar Law to topple Asquith, presenting the latter with a plan of a small War Committee chaired by Lloyd George, but Asquith rejected it; tendered his resignation as Secretary of State for War (5 Dec 1916), causing the downfall of Aquith's Cabinet; after unsuccessful attempt of Bonar Law to form a government (6 Dec 1916), he was asked to form a new Administration (6 Dec 1916) and accepted the post of Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury (7 Dec 1916 - 19 Oct 1922); formed his administration in coalition with the Conservative and Unionist Party (commonly known as the Unionists at that time); transformed the national war effort by bringing in business men to improve efficiency and by revolutionizing the cabinet system and its secretariat; during his administration, the Representation of the People Act (6 Feb 1918) gave the right to vote for women over 30; working with the Unionists, he scored a personal triumph in the General Election of Dec 1918: Coalition 478 (Unionists 334, Liberals 133, National Democratic Party 10, independent 1), Non-Coalition Parties 229 (Sinn Féin 73, Labour 63, Liberals 28, Irish Unionists 25, Unionists 23, Irish Parliamentary Party 7, independents 4, National Party 2, others 4); spent much of the next six months negotiating the Treaty of Versailles, which was signed on 28 Jun 1919 and ratified on 10 Jan 1920; was forced to open negotiations with the Irish leaders resulting in the Anglo-Irish Treaty (6 Dec 1921), which provided for creation of the Irish Free State; decision of the Conservative and Unionist Party to withdraw from the Coalition led to resignation of Lloyd George (19 Oct 1922); from October 1926 to November 1931 he was a leader of the Liberal party in the House of Commons; as the Member of Parliament with the longest unbroken service in the House of Commons, he held the post of Father of the House (1929-1945). |
| Biographical sources: "Lloyd George", by Thomas Jones (London: Oxford University Press, 1951); The Times, No. 50,102, Late London Edition, London Tuesday March 27 1945, pp. 2, 4 (obituary). |
| |
| [1] |
The Times, No. 41,344, London, Thursday, December 7, 1916, p. 11: "Court Circular. BUCKINGHAM PALACE, Dec. 6. The King summoned the Right Hon. A. Bonar Law, M.P., to an audience last evening, and invited him to form an administration. <...> The King gave further audience this evening to the Right Hon. A. Bonar Law, M.P., who intimated to His Majesty that he was unable to form an administration. The King summoned to an audience the Right Hon. D. Lloyd George, M.P., who undertook at His Majesty's request to endeavour to form an administration." |
| [2] |
The Times, No. 41,345, London, Friday, December 8, 1916, p. 11: "Court Circular. BUCKINGHAM PALACE, Dec. 7. <...> The Right Hon. D. Lloyd George, M.P., had an audience of The King this evening and accepted His Majesty's offer of the post of Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury and kissed hands upon his appointment." |
| [3] |
Appointment as Lord Commissioner of the Treasury by Letters Patent under the Great Seal dated 11 Dec 1916, announced by the Crown Office 27 Dec 1916, and gazetted 29 Dec 1916 (The London Gazette, No. 29883, Friday, 29 December, 1916, p. 12654). |
| [4] |
The Times, No. 41,358, London, Saturday, December 23, 1916, p. 9: "Court Circular. BUCKINGHAM PALACE, Dec. 22. The King held a Council this morning at 10.30 o'clock. <...> At the Council The Right Hon. D. Lloyd George took the Oath of Office as First Lord of the Treasury;"; The London Gazette, No. 29875, Friday, 22 December, 1916, p. 12471. |
| [5] |
Lloyd George "owing to indisposition, was unavoidably prevented from obeying His Majesty's Summons" on 11 Dec 1916 and failed to attend the Council at Buckingham Palace where most of the ministers were sworn in (Court Circular. The Times, No. 41,348, London, Tuesday, December 12, 1916, p. 11). |
| [6] |
The Times, No. 43,167, Royal Edition, London, Friday, October 20, 1922, p. 15: "Court Circular. BUCKINGHAM PALACE, Oct. 19. <...> The Right Hon. D. Lloyd George, M.P., had an audience of His Majesty, and tendered his resignation as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury, which The King was graciously pleased to accept." |
| [7] |
The London Gazette, No. 36938, Tuesday, 13 February, 1945, p. 883. |
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Image: photograph of David Lloyd George, 1919. |
