[224] On 17 June 1963, he survived a Parliamentary vote with a majority of 69,[225] one fewer than had been thought necessary for his survival, and was afterwards joined in the smoking-room only by his son and son-in-law, not by any Cabinet minister. [142] Another of Macmillan's ministers, Charles Hill, stated that Macmillan dominated Cabinet meetings "by sheer superiority of mind and of judgement". He is also remembered for "stop-go" economics: first expansion despite the opposition of Thorneycroft and his team, then Selwyn Lloyd's Pay Pause, and then finally the Maudling boom, with Britain's relative economic decline, especially compared to the EEC, becoming clear despite perceptions of consumer "affluence" in the late 1950s. [174] The scale of the victory meant that not only had the Conservatives won three successive general elections, but they had also increased their majority each time. [204] During the Malaya Emergency, the majority of the Communist guerrillas were ethnic Chinese, and British policies tended to favour the Muslim Malays whose willingness to follow their sultans and imams made them more anti-communist. Macmillan was the last British prime minister born during the Victorian era, the last to have served in the First World War and the last to receive a hereditary peerage. The sheer devilry of it verged upon the disgusting." . Outside of politics he . His book The Middle Way appeared in June 1938, advocating a broadly centrist political philosophy both domestically and internationally. His mistress figures neither in the index nor the book, though this probably sprang from discretion rather than bitterness. Lord Hailsham, the former Lord Chancellor, believes the law should be changed to protect people's privacy: politicians or anyone else. [10], Macmillan received an intensive early education, closely guided by his American mother. There, Macmillan described the pain he had endured for 45 years over the affair and birth of Sarah, whom he treated as his own until her death in 1970 following a fall. A family rumour that Boothby was her natural father has been discounted by the most recent and detailed study. [142] Macmillan was especially close to his three private secretaries, Tom Bligh, Freddie Bishop and Philip de Zulueta, who were his favourite advisers. Macmillan visited Greece on 11 December 1944. He was also a member of Buck's, Pratt's, the Turf Club and Beefsteak Club. [203] It is considered a landmark in the process of decolonisation. [276] Fisher also wrote that he "had a talent for pursuing progressive policies but presenting them tactfully in a Conservative tone of voice".[279]. We must run AFHQ (Allied Forces Headquarters) as the Greek slaves ran the operations of the Emperor Claudius". [41] As late as his North African posting of 194243 he reminded Churchill that he held the rank of captain in the Guards reserve.[42]. 107108 This period saw disturbances amongst British troops in France, which was of grave worry to the Government as the Russian and German revolutions had been accompanied by army mutinies. Over Macmillan's objections, Kennedy decided to have the United Nations forces to evict the white mercenaries from Katanga and reintegrate Katanga into the Congo. 'Cabinet Papers For 1957: Windscale Fire Danger Disclosed'. He loved her - and in any case, divorce was unthinkable for both family and political reasons. Her husband, who was created Earl of Stockton in 1984, outlived her by 20 years. [226], Macmillan had a meeting with Butler on 11 September and was careful to keep his options open (retire now, retire in the New Year, or fight the next election). He finally resigned, receiving the Queen from his hospital bed, on 18 October 1963, after nearly seven years as prime minister. There was something in all these views, which he did little to discourage, and which commanded public respect into the early 1960s. Macmillan was awarded a number of honorary degrees, including: C. P. Snow wrote to Macmillan that his reputation would endure as, like Churchill, he was "psychologically interesting". When Eden resigned in 1957 following the Suez Crisis, Macmillan succeeded him as prime minister and Leader of the Conservative Party. Zanzibar merged with Tanganyika to form Tanzania in 1963. In 1929 Lady Dorothy began a lifelong affair with the Conservative politician Robert Boothby, an arrangement that scandalised high society but remained unknown to the general public. Official bank rate, which had been kept low since the 1930s, was hiked in September 1958. [236] His service in the House of Commons totalled 37 years. He behaved immaculately throughout her long affair, giving his name to Sarah, her daughter born in 1930, fathered by Boothby. [56], Macmillan resigned the government whip (but not the Conservative party one) in protest at the lifting of sanctions on Italy after her conquest of Abyssinia. [143] It was intended as mockery but backfired, coming to be used in a neutral or friendly fashion. [84] In May 1944 Macmillan infuriated Eden by demanding an early peace treaty with Italy (at that time a pro-Allied regime under Badoglio held some power in the southern, liberated, part of Italy), a move which Churchill favoured. Davenport-Hines has studied the events of those years. In the end the crisis was resolved by giving priority for demobilisation to men who had served the longest. This was in the late Fifties - there was a general election coming up - and people were terrified that the scandal might damage Macmillan. 07, 1953 - Daughter of Harold Macmillan weds: The wedding took place yesterday at the St. Gilos Church, Horsted Keynes, Sussex of Miss Sarah Macmillan daughter of Harold Macmillan - and Mr. Andrew Heath of Thornhill Farm, Malmesburry: Photo shows Mr. Macmillan and his daughter arrive for the wedding. Much later on he treated the troubled and unhappy young woman with great kindness. Lady Dorothy was also descended from William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, who served as Prime Minister from 1756 to 1757 in communion with Newcastle and Pitt the Elder. Although it is sometimes stated that he believed himself to have inoperable prostate cancer, he in fact knew it was benign before the operation. [99][100], Macmillan was Minister of Defence from October 1954, but found his authority restricted by Churchill's personal involvement. [7] He had two brothers, Daniel, eight years his senior, and Arthur, four years his senior. [9] Macmillan considered himself a Scot. [231], Enoch Powell claimed that it was wrong of Macmillan to seek to monopolise the advice given to the Queen in this way. Obstacles made for desperation and excitement. [251], As Chancellor of Oxford University, Macmillan condemned its refusal in February 1985 to award Thatcher an honorary degree. She met Macmillan in 1919, when he was aide-de- camp to her father, then Governor- General of Canada. [214] As expected, the Beaverbrook newspapers whose readers tended to vote Conservative offered up ferocious criticism of Macmillan's application to join the EEC, accusing him of betrayal. He sent Lord Hailsham to negotiate the Test Ban Treaty, a sign that he was grooming him as a potential successor. Not any longer. Even then, 'Boothby used to write nearly every day, as well as telephoning most days, and Lady Dorothy would scurry downstairs first thing in the morning to snatch up the post before Macmillan saw it. death death: 1986-12-29. burial place: Sussex. Boothby was a beguiling character, of course . From the same year Macmillan permitted the US Navy to station Polaris submarines at Holy Loch, Scotland, as a replacement for Thor. Macmillan was prime minister at the time of the Profumo-Keeler scandal in 1963. Lady Dorothy Cavendish, third daughter of the ninth Duke of Devonshire, was born in 1900 and brought up in the old tradition of great houses, nannies, governesses and noblesse oblige. Anything he says that is not obvious is dangerous; whatever is not trite is risky. 'She was unable to have children herself as a result of an abortion the family made her go through with. Sarah Macmillan (19301970). Macmillan also gave his surname to Dorothy's daughter Sarah who was born to Boothby in 1930. Lady Dorothy Evelyn Macmillan GBE (ne Cavendish; 28 July 1900 21 May 1966) was an English socialite and the third daughter of Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire, and Evelyn Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. [280], Alistair Horne, his official biographer, concedes that after his re-election in 1959 Macmillan's premiership suffered a series of major setbacks. It was he who first suggested collusion with Israel. The canal was blocked by the Egyptians, and most oil shipments were delayed as tankers had to go around Africa. His political opinions at this stage were an eclectic mix of moderate Conservatism, moderate Liberalism and Fabian Socialism. Macmillan supported the creation of the National Economic Development Council (NEDC, known as "Neddy"), which was announced in the summer of 1961 and first met in 1962. [36] On one occasion he had to command reliable troops in a nearby park as a unit of Guardsmen was briefly refusing to reembark for France, although the incident was resolved peacefully. [201] In the aftermath of criticism about colonial policies in Kenya and Nyasland, Macmillan from 1959 onward started to see the African colonies as a liability, arguing at cabinet meetings that the level of force required to hang onto them would result in more domestic criticism, international opprobrium, costly wars, and would allow the Soviet Union to establish influence in the Third World by supporting self-styled "liberation" movements that would just make things worse. He also once commented that White's was 75% gentlemen and 25% crooks, the perfect combination for a club. Partly as a consequence of this favour, in late October 1957 the US McMahon Act was eased to facilitate nuclear co-operation between the two governments, initially with a view to producing cleaner weapons and reducing the need for duplicate testing. In April 1957, Macmillan reaffirmed his strong support for the British nuclear weapons programme. Vicky tried to label him with other names, including "Mac the Knife" at the time of widespread cabinet changes in 1962, but none caught on. A young John Major attended the presentation of the budget, and attributes his political ambitions to this event. From the age of sixteen she lived with the family at Rideau Hall, Ottawa, where her father served as Governor General of Canada. [21], Volunteering as soon as war was declared, Macmillan was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant in the King's Royal Rifle Corps on 19 November 1914. {long pause} Whether she's leading you in the right direction "[249]. "[237] Outlawed African National Congress president Oliver Tambo sent his condolences: 'As South Africans we shall always remember him for his efforts to encourage the apartheid regime to bow to the winds of change that continue to blow in South Africa. [199], Macmillan's first government had seen the first phase of the sub-Saharan African independence movement, which accelerated under his second government. [43] Dick Leonard reports that Alistair Horne refers to "inevitable rumours" and that "he left for the 'usual reasons' for boys to be expelled from public schools".[44]. Feeling that the Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was being obstructionist, Macmillan telephoned Kennedy on 11 April 1963 to suggest a joint letter to Khrushchev to break the impasse. They were briefly and disastrously married; a marriage that left Boothby feeling guilty for the rest of his life. 'The whole climate has changed since then. [187] Macmillan was strongly opposed to the idea of sending British troops to fight in Laos, but was afraid of damaging relations with the United States if he did not, making him very apprehensive as he set out for Key West, especially as he had never met Kennedy before. '[237] Commonwealth Secretary-General Sir Shridath Ramphal affirmed: "His own leadership in providing from Britain a worthy response to African national consciousness shaped the post-war era and made the modern Commonwealth possible. But human sexuality is notoriously hard to regulate, and the fear of being found out does not guarantee faithful husbands, nor does fidelity necessarily make for happy wives. The fact that it never became public was a tribute to the docility and decorum of the press and to the ability of politicians and society to close ranks against outside scrutiny. This was an unfair charge." When he did realise this, he changed his mind and called for withdrawal on US terms, while exaggerating the financial crisis. For the first couple of years the marriage appeared happy, but before long Dorothy's high spirits and warm but turbulent nature looked for greater fulfilment than her devoted husband could offer. He championed a Keynesian strategy of deficit spending to maintain demand and pursuit of corporatist policies to develop the domestic market as the engine of growth. Contemporaries have described Macmillan as 'a cold and unfeeling man, especially where sex was concerned'. [263], The House of Commons paid its tribute on 12 January 1987, with much reference made to his book The Middle Way. [191] The Thais wanted to change the voting procedure for SEATO from requiring unanimous consent to a three-quarter majority, a measure that Britain vetoed, causing the Thais to lose interest in SEATO. [188] Macmillan was especially opposed to intervention in Laos as he had been warned by his Chiefs of Staff on 4 January 1961 that if Western troops entered Laos, then China would probably intervene in Laos as Mao Zedong had made it quite clear he would not accept Western forces in any nation that bordered China. [50] Eileen O'Casey, ne Reynolds (19001995), the actress wife of Irish dramatist Sen O'Casey, was another female friend, Macmillan publishing her husband's plays. [207] On 8 December 1962, Indonesia sponsored a rebellion in the British protectorate of Brunei, leading to Macmillan to dispatch Gurkhas to put down the rebellion against the sultan. In any case, these were far more modest times. [137] The political situation after Suez was so desperate that on taking office on 10 January he told the Queen he could not guarantee his government would last "six weeks"though ultimately he would be in charge of the government for more than six years. Rising to high office as a . [267], Macmillan was an elected Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1962.[268]. He said: 'It is impossible to be happily married when you love someone else.' It is tempting to conclude that those were more civilised times. He opposed the appeasement of Germany practised by the Conservative government. He rose to high office during the Second World War as a protg of Prime Minister Winston Churchill. There was nothing for it but divorce: a grave step in those days. In 1935 he was one of 15 MPs to write "Planning for Employment". [2] She received lessons in French, German, riding and golf. The standard of living had risen enough that workers could participate in a consumer economy, shifting the working class concerns away from traditional Labour Party views. [231], While recovering in hospital, Macmillan wrote a memorandum (dated 14 October) recommending the process by which "soundings" would be taken of party opinion to select his successor, which was accepted by the Cabinet on 15 October. [8] The stress caused by this may have contributed to Macmillan's nervous breakdown in 1931. [18][pageneeded] He served with distinction and was wounded on three occasions. [214] Macmillan wrote in his diary about his decision to apply to join the EEC: "Shall we be caught between a hostile (or at least less and less friendly) America and a boastful, powerful 'Empire of Charlemagne'-now under French, but later bound to come under German control?It's a grim choice". [219] Macmillan's handling of the Vassall affair in which an Admiralty clerk, John Vassall, was convicted in October 1962 of passing secrets to the Soviet Union undermined his "Super-Mac" reputation for competence. [46] The stress caused by that may have contributed to Macmillan's nervous breakdown in 1931. [1] Caricatured as "Supermac", he was known for his pragmatism, wit and unflappability. Time passed, the physical passion between Boothby and Dorothy faded (though she continued to write letters and telephone him every day) and gradually they settled down, with Harold, into a menage a trois. But it just didn't get into the papers. [186] The emphasis on aid to the Third World also coincided well with Macmillan's "one nation conservatism" as he wrote in a letter to Kennedy advocating reforms to capitalism to ensure full employment: "If we fail in this, Communism will triumph, not by war or even by subversion but by seemingly to be a better way of bringing people material comforts". [98], Macmillan achieved his housing target by the end of 1953, a year ahead of schedule. [12][13], Macmillan attended Summer Fields School, Oxford (190306). 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