Iain Macleod | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
| In office 20 June 1970 – 20 July 1970 | |
| Prime Minister | Edward Heath |
| Preceded by | Roy Jenkins |
| Succeeded by | Anthony Barber |
| Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
| In office 11 November 1965 – 20 June 1970 | |
| Leader | Edward Heath |
| Preceded by | Edward Heath |
| Succeeded by | Roy Jenkins |
| Leader of the House of Commons | |
| In office 9 October 1961 – 20 October 1963 | |
| Prime Minister | Harold Macmillan |
| Preceded by | Rab Butler |
| Succeeded by | Selwyn Lloyd |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | |
| In office 9 October 1961 – 20 October 1963 | |
| Prime Minister | Harold Macmillan |
| Preceded by | Charles Hill |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Blakenham |
| Chairman of the Conservative Party | |
| In office 9 October 1961 – 20 October 1963 | |
| Leader | Harold Macmillan |
| Preceded by | Rab Butler |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Blakenham |
| Secretary of State for the Colonies | |
| In office 14 October 1959 – 9 October 1961 | |
| Prime Minister | Harold Macmillan |
| Preceded by | Alan Lennox-Boyd |
| Succeeded by | Reginald Maudling |
| Minister of Labour and National Service | |
| In office 20 December 1955 – 14 October 1959 | |
| Prime Minister | Anthony Eden Harold Macmillan |
| Preceded by | Walter Monckton |
| Succeeded by | Edward Heath |
| Minister of Health | |
| In office 7 May 1952 – 20 December 1955 | |
| Prime Minister | Winston Churchill Anthony Eden |
| Preceded by | Harry Crookshank |
| Succeeded by | Robin Turton |
| Member of Parliament for Enfield West | |
| In office 23 February 1950 – 20 July 1970 | |
| Preceded by | Ernest Davies (Enfield) |
| Succeeded by | Cecil Parkinson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Iain Norman Macleod 11 November 1913 Skipton, United Kingdom |
| Died | 20 July 1970 (aged 56) London, United Kingdom |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge |
Iain Norman Macleod (11 November 1913 – 20 July 1970) was a British Conservative Party politician.
A playboy and professional bridge player in his twenties, after war service Macleod worked for the Conservative Research Department before entering Parliament in 1950. He was noted as a formidable Parliamentary debater and—later—as a platform orator. He was quickly appointed Minister of Health, later serving as Minister of Labour. He served an important term as Secretary of State for the Colonies under Harold Macmillan in the early 1960s, overseeing the independence of many African countries from British rule but earning the enmity of Conservative right-wingers, and the soubriquet that he was "too clever by half".
Macleod was unhappy with the "emergence" of Sir Alec Douglas-Home as party leader and prime minister in succession to Macmillan in 1963 (he claimed to have supported Macmillan's deputy Rab Butler, although it is unclear exactly what his recommendation had been). He refused to serve in Home's government, and while serving as editor of The Spectator alleged that the succession had been stitched up by Macmillan and a "magic circle" of Old Etonians.
Macleod did not contest the first ever Conservative Party leadership election in 1965, but endorsed the eventual winner Edward Heath. When the Conservatives returned to power in June 1970, he was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer in Heath's government, but died suddenly only a month later.