Duff Cooper

The Viscount Norwich
Secretary of State for War
In office
22 November 1935 – 28 May 1937
MonarchsGeorge V
Edward VIII
George VI
Prime MinisterStanley Baldwin
Preceded byThe Viscount Halifax
Succeeded byLeslie Hore-Belisha
First Lord of the Admiralty
In office
28 October 1937 – 3 October 1938
MonarchGeorge VI
Prime MinisterNeville Chamberlain
Preceded bySir Samuel Hoare
Succeeded byThe Earl Stanhope
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office
20 July 1941 – 11 November 1943
Prime MinisterWinston Churchill
Preceded byThe Lord Hankey
Succeeded byErnest Brown
British Ambassador to France
In office
1944–1948
MonarchGeorge VI
Preceded byVacant due to German occupation
Succeeded byOliver Harvey
Personal details
Born
Alfred Duff Cooper

(1890-02-22)22 February 1890
London, England
Died1 January 1954(1954-01-01) (aged 63)
at sea, North Atlantic
Political partyConservative
Spouse
(m. 1919)
ChildrenJohn Julius
Parent(s)Sir Alfred Cooper
Lady Agnes Duff
Alma materNew College, Oxford
Military service
Branch/serviceBritish Army
RankLieutenant
UnitGrenadier Guards
Battles/warsFirst World War
AwardsDistinguished Service Order
Mentioned in Despatches

Alfred Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich, GCMG, DSO, PC (22 February 1890 – 1 January 1954), known as Duff Cooper, was a British Conservative Party politician and diplomat who was also a military and political historian.

First elected to Parliament in 1924, he lost his seat in 1929 but returned to Parliament in the 1931 Westminster St George's by-election, which was seen as a referendum on Stanley Baldwin's leadership of the Conservative Party. He later served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for War and First Lord of the Admiralty. He resigned from the cabinet over the Munich agreement of 1938.

When Winston Churchill became prime minister in May 1940, he named Cooper as Minister of Information. In 1941, as a member of the Cabinet, he served as British Minister in Singapore before its fall to the Japanese. He later served an important role as representative to Charles de Gaulle's Free France (1943–44) and ambassador to France from 1944 to 1948.