Third Churchill ministry

Winston Churchill formed the third Churchill ministry in the United Kingdom following the 1951 general election. He was reappointed as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by King George VI and oversaw the accession of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952 and her coronation.

Third Churchill ministry
Cabinet of the United Kingdom
1951–1955
Date formed	26 October 1951 (1951-10-26)
Date dissolved	5 April 1955 (1955-04-05)
People and organisations
Monarch	George VI (1951–1952) Elizabeth II (1952–1955)
Prime Minister	Sir Winston Churchill
Deputy Prime Minister	Sir Anthony Eden
Total no. of members	149 appointments
Member party	Conservative Party
Status in legislature	Majority 321 / 625 (51%)
Opposition party	Labour Party
Opposition leader	Clement Attlee
History
Election	1951 general election
Legislature terms	40th UK Parliament
Predecessor	Second Attlee ministry
Successor	Eden ministry

History

See also: Later life of Winston Churchill

The Conservative Party returned to power in the United Kingdom after winning the 1951 general election following six years in opposition. This was the first majority Conservative government formed since Stanley Baldwin's 1924–1929 ministry. Winston Churchill became prime minister for a second time. Churchill's government had several prominent figures and up-and-coming stars. Rab Butler was appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer while Sir Anthony Eden returned as Foreign Secretary. The noted Scottish lawyer Sir David Maxwell Fyfe, who had gained fame as a prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials, became Home Secretary. He remained in this post until 1954, when he was ennobled as Viscount Kilmuir and appointed Lord Chancellor. Future Conservative Prime Minister Harold Macmillan achieved his first major Cabinet position when he was made Minister of Defence in 1954.

Gwilym Lloyd George, younger son of former Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister David Lloyd George, replaced Sir David Maxwell Fyfe as Home Secretary in 1954. Florence Horsbrugh became the first woman to hold a Cabinet post in a Conservative government when she was appointed Minister of Education in 1951. Several figures who were later to achieve high offices held their first governmental posts. These included: future Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath, future Chancellors of the Exchequer Reginald Maudling, Peter Thorneycroft and Iain Macleod and future Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington. Other notable figures in the government were: John Profumo, Bill Deedes, David Ormsby-Gore and Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury.

The Churchill ministry was mainly concerned with international affairs, the widening Cold War and decolonialisation (especially the Mau Mau Uprising and the Malayan Emergency).

Despite suffering a stroke in 1953, Churchill remained in office until April 1955, when he resigned at the age of eighty. He was succeeded by his ambitious protégé and deputy, Sir Anthony Eden, who finally reached the post he had coveted for so long; although his premiership was to last for less than two years.

1955 cabinet

Prime Minister Winston Churchill's 1955 cabinet. See Wikimedia Commons for a guide to those pictured.

• Sir Winston Churchill – Prime Minister
• David Maxwell-Fyfe, 1st Viscount Kilmuir – Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
• Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury – Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council
• Harry Crookshank – Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
• Rab Butler – Chancellor of the Exchequer
• Sir Anthony Eden – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
• Gwilym Lloyd George – Secretary of State for the Home Department and Secretary of State for Welsh Affairs
• Derick Heathcoat-Amory – Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
• Alan Lennox-Boyd – Secretary of State for the Colonies
• Philip Cunliffe-Lister, 1st Viscount Swinton – Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations
• Harold Macmillan – Minister of Defence
• Sir David Eccles – Minister of Education
• Duncan Sandys – Minister of Housing and Local Government
• Sir Walter Monckton – Minister of Labour and National Service
• Frederick Marquis, 1st Earl of Woolton – Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister of Materials
• Osbert Peake – Minister of Pensions
• James Stuart – Secretary of State for Scotland
• Peter Thorneycroft – President of the Board of Trade
• Norman Brook – Cabinet Secretary

List of ministers

Members of the Cabinet are in bold face.

Office	Name	Dates	Notes
Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury	Winston Churchill	26 October 1951 – 5 April 1955	Knighted 1953
Lord Chancellor	Gavin Simonds, 1st Baron Simonds	30 October 1951
	David Mawell Fyfe, 1st Viscount Kilmuir	18 October 1954
Lord President of the Council	Frederick Marquis, 1st Baron Woolton	28 October 1951
	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury	24 November 1952	also Leader of the House of Lords
Lord Privy Seal	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury	28 October 1951	also Leader of the House of Lords
	Harry Crookshank	7 May 1952	also Leader of the House of Commons
Chancellor of the Exchequer	Rab Butler	28 October 1951
Minister of Economic Affairs	Sir Arthur Salter	31 October 1951	Office abolished 24 November 1952
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury	Patrick Buchan-Hepburn	30 October 1951
Financial Secretary to the Treasury	John Boyd-Carpenter	31 October 1951
	Henry Brooke	28 July 1954
Economic Secretary to the Treasury	Reginald Maudling	24 November 1952
Lords of the Treasury	Harry Mackeson	7 November 1951 – 28 May 1952
	Herbert Butcher	7 November 1951 – 3 July 1953	Knighted
	Edward Heath	7 November 1951 – April 1955
	Tam Galbraith	7 November 1951 – 4 June 1954
	Dennis Vosper	7 November 1951 – 4 June 1954
	Hendrie Oakshott	28 May 1952 – April 1955
	Martin Redmayne	3 July 1953 – April 1955
	Richard Thompson	28 July 1954 – April 1955
	Gerard Wills	26 October 1954 – April 1955
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	Anthony Eden	28 October 1951	Knighted 1954
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs	Selwyn Lloyd	30 October 1951 – 18 October 1954
	Gerald Isaacs, 2nd Marquess of Reading	11 November 1953 – April 1955
	Anthony Nutting	18 October 1954 – April 1955
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	Gerald Isaacs, 2nd Marquess of Reading	31 October 1951 – 11 November 1953
	Anthony Nutting	31 October 1951 – 18 October 1954
	Douglas Dodds-Parker	11 November 1953 – 18 October 1954
	Robin Turton	18 October 1954 – April 1955
Secretary of State for the Home Department and Welsh Affairs	Sir David Maxwell Fyfe	28 October 1951
	Gwilym Lloyd George	18 October 1954
Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department	David Llewellyn	5 November 1951 – 14 October 1952
	Sir Hugh Lucas-Tooth	3 February 1952 – April 1955
	Alexander Lloyd, 2nd Baron Lloyd	24 November 1952 – 18 October 1954
	Stormont Mancroft, 2nd Baron Mancroft	18 October 1954 – April 1955
First Lord of the Admiralty	James Thomas	31 October 1951	Viscount Cilcennin
Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty	Allan Noble	5 November 1951
Civil Lord of the Admiralty	Simon Wingfield Digby	5 November 1951
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries	Sir Thomas Dugdale	31 October 1951	Post in Cabinet from 3 September 1953
	Derick Heathcoat-Amory	28 July 1954	Combined with Minister of Food 18 October 1954
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries	Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington	5 November 1951 – 18 October 1954
	Richard Nugent	5 November 1951 – April 1955
	Michael Hicks Beach, 2nd Earl St Aldwyn	18 October 1954 – April 1955
Secretary of State for Air	William Sidney, 6th Baron de L'Isle and Dudley	31 October 1951
Under-Secretary of State for Air	Nigel Birch	3 November 1951
	George Ward	29 February 1952
Secretary of State for the Colonies	Oliver Lyttelton	28 October 1951
	Alan Lennox-Boyd	28 July 1954
Minister of State for the Colonies	Alan Lennox-Boyd	2 November 1951
	Henry Hopkinson	7 May 1952
Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies	Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster	5 November 1951
	Alexander Lloyd, 2nd Baron Lloyd	18 October 1954
Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations	Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay	28 October 1951
	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury	12 March 1952	also Leader of the House of Lords
	TPhilip Cunliffe-Lister, 1st Viscount Swinton	24 November 1952
Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations	John Foster	3 November 1951
	Douglas Dodds-Parker	18 October 1954
Minister for Coordination of Transport, Fuel and Power	Frederick Leathers, 1st Baron Leathers	30 October 1951	Office abolished 3 September 1953
Minister of Defence	Winston Churchill	28 October 1951	As Prime Minister
	Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis	1 March 1952
	Harold Macmillan	18 October 1954
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Defence	Nigel Birch	28 February 1952
	Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington	18 October 1954
Minister of Education	Florence Horsbrugh	2 November 1951	Office in Cabinet from 3 September 1953
	Sir David Eccles	18 October 1954
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education	Kenneth Pickthorn	5 November 1951
	Dennis Vosper	18 October 1954
Minister of Food	Gwilym Lloyd George	31 October 1951	Office in Cabinet from 3 September 1953
	Derick Heathcoat-Amory	18 October 1954	Combined with Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food	Charles Hill	31 October 1951
Minister of Fuel and Power	Geoffrey Lloyd	31 October 1951
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Fuel and Power	Lancelot Joynson-Hicks	5 November 1951
Minister of Health	Harry Crookshank	30 October 1951	also Leader of the House of Commons
	Iain Macleod	7 May 1952
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health	Patricia Hornsby-Smith	3 November 1951
Minister of Housing and Local Government	Harold Macmillan	30 October 1951
	Duncan Sandys	18 October 1954
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government	Ernest Marples	3 November 1951
	William Deedes	18 October 1954
Minister of Labour and National Service	Sir Walter Monckton	28 October 1951
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour	Sir Peter Bennett	31 October 1951
	Harold Watkinson	28 May 1952
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	Philip Cunliffe-Lister, 1st Viscount Swinton	31 October 1951	Also Minister of Materials
	Frederick Marquis, 1st Baron Woolton	24 November 1952	Office in Cabinet
Minister of Materials	Philip Cunliffe-Lister, 1st Viscount Swinton	31 October 1951	Also Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
	Sir Arthur Salter	24 November 1952
	Frederick Marquis, 1st Baron Woolton	1 September 1953	Also Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Office wound up 16 August 1954
Minister without Portfolio	Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster	18 October 1954 – April 1955
Minister of National Insurance	Osbert Peake	31 October 1951	Combined with Minister of Pensions 3 September 1953
Paymaster General	Frederick Lindemann, 1st Baron Cherwell	30 October 1951
	George Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Selkirk	11 November 1953	Office not in Cabinet
Minister of Pensions	Derick Heathcoat-Amory	5 November 1951	Combined with Minister of National Insurance 1 September 1953
	Osbert Peake	3 September 1953	Office in Cabinet from 18 October 1954
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Pensions	John Smyth	5 November 1951 – April 1955
	Robin Turton	5 November 1951 – 18 October 1954
	Ernest Marples	18 October 1954 – April 1955
Postmaster-General	Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr	5 November 1951
Assistant Postmaster-General	David Gammans	5 November 1951
Secretary of State for Scotland	James Stuart	30 October 1951
Minister of State for Scotland	Alec Douglas-Home, 14th Earl of Home	2 November 1951
Under-Secretary of State for Scotland	Tom Galbraith	2 November 1951 – 5 April 1955
	William McNair Snadden	2 November 1951 – April 1955
	James Henderson Stewart	4 February 1952 – April 1955
Minister of Supply	Duncan Sandys	31 October 1951
	Selwyn Lloyd	18 October 1954
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Supply	Toby Low	3 November 1951
	Sir Edward Boyle	28 July 1954
President of the Board of Trade	Peter Thorneycroft	30 October 1951	Office in Cabinet by 1955
Minister of State for Trade	Derick Heathcoat-Amory	3 September 1953
	Derek Walker-Smith	18 October 1954
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade	Henry Strauss	3 November 1951
Secretary for Overseas Trade	Henry Hopkinson	3 November 1951
	Harry Mackeson	28 May 1952	Office replaced by Minister of State for Trade 3 September 1953
Minister of Transport	John Maclay	31 October 1951
	Alan Lennox-Boyd	7 May 1952	Ministries of Transport and Civil Aviation merged 1 October 1953
	John Boyd-Carpenter	28 July 1954
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport	Joseph Gurney Braithwaite	5 November 1951 – 1 November 1953
	Reginald Maudling	18 April 1952 – 24 November 1952
	John Profumo	24 November 1952 – April 1955
	Hugh Molson	11 November 1953 – April 1955
Secretary of State for War	Antony Head	31 October 1951
Under-Secretary of State and Financial Secretary for War	James Hutchison	5 November 1951
	Fitzroy Maclean	18 October 1954
Minister of Works	Sir David Eccles	1 November 1951
	Nigel Birch	18 October 1954
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works	Hugh Molson	3 November 1951
	Reginald Bevins	11 November 1953
Attorney General	Sir Lionel Heald	3 November 1951
	Sir Reginald Manningham-Buller	18 October 1954
Solicitor General	Sir Reginald Manningham-Buller	3 November 1951
	Sir Harry Hylton-Foster	18 October 1954
Lord Advocate	James Clyde	2 November 1951
	William Rankine Milligan	30 December 1954
Solicitor General for Scotland	William Rankine Milligan	2 November 1951	Not an MP
	William Grant	10 January 1955
Treasurer of the Household	Cedric Drewe	7 November 1951	Knighted
Comptroller of the Household	Roger Conant	7 November 1951
	Tam Galbraith	7 June 1954
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household	Henry Studholme	7 November 1951
Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms	Hugh Fortescue, 5th Earl Fortescue	5 November 1951
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard	William Onslow, 6th Earl of Onslow	5 November 1951
Lords in Waiting	Frederick Smith, 2nd Earl of Birkenhead	5 November 1951 – 28 January 1955
	George Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Selkirk	5 November 1951 – 11 November 1953
	Alexander Lloyd, 2nd Baron Lloyd	7 November 1951 – 24 November 1952
	Stormont Mancroft, 2nd Baron Mancroft	15 December 1952 – 18 October 1954
	Bladen Hawke, 9th Baron Hawke	11 November 1953 – April 1955
	Thomas Fairfax, 13th Lord Fairfax of Cameron	18 October 1954 – April 1955
	John Cavendish, 5th Baron Chesham	28 January 1955 – April 1955

References

• D. Butler and G. Butler (ed.). Twentieth Century British Political Facts 1900–2000.

Preceded by Second Attlee ministry	Government of the United Kingdom 1951–1955	Succeeded by Eden ministry