David Margesson, 1st Viscount Margesson

The Viscount Margesson
Margesson at his desk in the War Office
Secretary of State for War
In office
22 December 1940 – 22 February 1942
Prime MinisterWinston Churchill
Preceded byAnthony Eden
Succeeded bySir James Grigg
Government Chief Whip in the House of Commons
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
In office
10 November 1931 – 22 December 1940
Prime MinisterRamsay MacDonald
Stanley Baldwin
Neville Chamberlain
Winston Churchill
Preceded byTom Kennedy
Succeeded bySir Charles Edwards
Personal details
Born(1890-07-26)26 July 1890
Died24 December 1965(1965-12-24) (aged 75)
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
SpouseFrances Leggett
Alma materMagdalene College, Cambridge

Henry David Reginald Margesson, 1st Viscount Margesson, PC (26 July 1890 – 24 December 1965) was a British Conservative politician, most popularly remembered for his tenure as Government Chief Whip in the 1930s. His reputation was of a stern disciplinarian who was one of the harshest and most effective whips. His sense of the popular mood led him know when to sacrifice unpopular ministers. He protected the appeasement-supporting government as long as he could.

However, some argue that there were weaknesses of his system because of the number of high-profile rebellions during his tenure.