Winston Churchill

The Right Honourable Sir Winston Churchill KG OM CH TD DL FRS RA
The Roaring Lion, 1941
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 26 October 1951 – 5 April 1955
Monarchs	George VI Elizabeth II
Deputy	Anthony Eden
Preceded by	Clement Attlee
Succeeded by	Anthony Eden
In office 10 May 1940 – 26 July 1945
Monarch	George VI
Deputy	Clement Attlee (de facto; 1942–1945)
Preceded by	Neville Chamberlain
Succeeded by	Clement Attlee
Senior political offices Father of the House of Commons In office 8 October 1959 – 25 September 1964 Preceded by David Grenfell Succeeded by Rab Butler Leader of the Opposition In office 26 July 1945 – 26 October 1951 Prime Minister Clement Attlee Preceded by Clement Attlee Succeeded by Clement Attlee Leader of the Conservative Party In office 9 October 1940 – 6 April 1955 Preceded by Neville Chamberlain Succeeded by Anthony Eden
Ministerial offices 1939‍–‍1952 Minister of Defence In office 28 October 1951 – 1 March 1952 Prime Minister Himself Preceded by Manny Shinwell Succeeded by Harold Alexander In office 10 May 1940 – 26 July 1945 Prime Minister Himself Preceded by Ernle Chatfield (Coordination of Defence) Succeeded by Clement Attlee First Lord of the Admiralty In office 3 September 1939 – 11 May 1940 Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain Preceded by James Stanhope Succeeded by A. V. Alexander
Ministerial offices 1908‍–‍1929 Chancellor of the Exchequer In office 6 November 1924 – 4 June 1929 Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin Preceded by Philip Snowden Succeeded by Philip Snowden Secretary of State for the Colonies In office 13 February 1921 – 19 October 1922 Prime Minister David Lloyd George Preceded by Alfred Milner Succeeded by Victor Cavendish Secretary of State for Air In office 10 January 1919 – 13 February 1921 Prime Minister David Lloyd George Preceded by William Weir Succeeded by Frederick Guest Secretary of State for War In office 10 January 1919 – 13 February 1921 Prime Minister David Lloyd George Preceded by The Viscount Milner Succeeded by Laming Worthington-Evans Minister of Munitions In office 17 July 1917 – 10 January 1919 Prime Minister David Lloyd George Preceded by Christopher Addison Succeeded by Andrew Weir Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster In office 25 May 1915 – 25 November 1915 Prime Minister H. H. Asquith Preceded by Edwin Montagu Succeeded by Herbert Samuel First Lord of the Admiralty In office 24 October 1911 – 25 May 1915 Prime Minister H. H. Asquith Preceded by Reginald McKenna Succeeded by Arthur Balfour Home Secretary In office 19 February 1910 – 24 October 1911 Prime Minister H. H. Asquith Preceded by Herbert Gladstone Succeeded by Reginald McKenna President of the Board of Trade In office 12 April 1908 – 14 February 1910 Prime Minister H. H. Asquith Preceded by David Lloyd George Succeeded by Sydney Buxton
Parliamentary offices Member of Parliament for Woodford In office 5 July 1945 – 25 September 1964 Preceded by Constituency established Succeeded by Constituency abolished Member of Parliament for Epping In office 29 October 1924 – 15 June 1945 Preceded by Leonard Lyle Succeeded by Leah Manning Member of Parliament for Dundee In office 9 May 1908 – 26 October 1922 Serving with Alexander Wilkie Preceded by Edmund Robertson Alexander Wilkie Succeeded by Edwin Scrymgeour E. D. Morel Member of Parliament for Manchester North West In office 8 February 1906 – 12 April 1908 Preceded by William Houldsworth Succeeded by William Joynson-Hicks Member of Parliament for Oldham In office 24 October 1900 – 8 February 1906 Preceded by Walter Runciman Succeeded by John Albert Bright
Personal details
Born	Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874-11-30)30 November 1874 Blenheim, Oxfordshire, England
Died	24 January 1965(1965-01-24) (aged 90) London, England
Resting place	St Martin's Church, Bladon, Oxfordshire
Political party	Conservative (1900–1904, 1924–1964)
Other political affiliations	Liberal (1904–1924)
Spouse	Clementine Hozier ​ (m. 1908)​
Children	5, including Diana, Randolph, Sarah and Mary
Parents	Lord Randolph Churchill Jennie Jerome
Education	Harrow School Royal Military College, Sandhurst
Occupation	Historian painter politician military officer writer
Civilian awards	Full list
Signature
Military service
Branch/service	British Army Territorial Army (from 1902)
Years of service	1893–1924
Rank	Full list
Unit	4th Queen's Own Hussars Malakand Field Force 21st Lancers South African Light Horse Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars Grenadier Guards Royal Scots Fusiliers
Commands	6th bn, Royal Scots Fusiliers
Battles/wars	North-West Frontier Mahdist War Second Boer War (POW) First World War
Military awards	Full list
Winston Churchill's voice Churchill's "Be ye men of valour" speech Recorded 19 May 1940

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Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill^[a] KG OM CH TD DL FRS RA (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (during the Second World War) and again from 1951 to 1955. Apart from 1922 to 1924, he was a member of Parliament (MP) from 1900 to 1964 and represented a total of five constituencies. Ideologically an adherent to economic liberalism and imperialism, he was for most of his career a member of the Conservative Party, which he led from 1940 to 1955. He was a member of the Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924.

Of mixed English and American parentage, Churchill was born in Oxfordshire into the wealthy, aristocratic Spencer family. He joined the British Army in 1895 and saw action in British India, the Mahdist War and the Second Boer War, gaining fame as a war correspondent and writing books about his campaigns. Elected a Conservative MP in 1900, he defected to the Liberals in 1904. In H. H. Asquith's Liberal government, Churchill was president of the Board of Trade and Home Secretary, championing prison reform and workers' social security. As First Lord of the Admiralty during the First World War, he oversaw the Gallipoli campaign, but after it proved a disaster, was demoted to Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He resigned in November 1915 and joined the Royal Scots Fusiliers on the Western Front for six months. In 1917, he returned to government under David Lloyd George and served successively as Minister of Munitions, Secretary of State for War, Secretary of State for Air, and Secretary of State for the Colonies, overseeing the Anglo-Irish Treaty and British foreign policy in the Middle East. After two years out of Parliament, he was Chancellor of the Exchequer in Stanley Baldwin's Conservative government, returning sterling in 1925 to the gold standard, depressing the UK economy.

Out of government during his so-called "wilderness years" in the 1930s, Churchill took the lead in calling for rearmament to counter the threat of militarism in Nazi Germany. At the outbreak of the Second World War he was re-appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. In May 1940, he became prime minister, succeeding Neville Chamberlain. Churchill formed a national government and oversaw British involvement in the Allied war effort against the Axis powers, resulting in victory in 1945. After the Conservatives' defeat in the 1945 general election, he became Leader of the Opposition. Amid the developing Cold War with the Soviet Union, he publicly warned of an "iron curtain" of Soviet influence in Europe and promoted European unity. Between his terms, he wrote several books recounting his experience during the war. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953. He lost the 1950 election but was returned to office in 1951. His second term was preoccupied with foreign affairs, especially Anglo-American relations and preservation of what remained of the British Empire, with India no longer a part of it. Domestically, his government's priority was their extensive housebuilding programme, in which they were successful. In declining health, Churchill resigned in 1955, remaining an MP until 1964. Upon his death in 1965, he was given a state funeral.

One of the 20th century's most significant figures, Churchill remains popular in the UK and the rest of the Anglosphere. He is generally viewed as a victorious wartime leader who played an integral role in defending liberal democracy against the spread of fascism. He has sometimes been criticised for his imperialism and certain comments on race, in addition to some wartime decisions such as area bombing, but historians nevertheless rank Churchill as one of the greatest British prime ministers.

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