The Earl Mountbatten of Burma | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by Allan Warren, 1976 | |
| Chief of the Defence Staff | |
| In office 13 July 1959 – 15 July 1965 | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Sir William Dickson |
| Succeeded by | Sir Richard Hull |
| First Sea Lord | |
| In office 18 April 1955 – 19 October 1959 | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Sir Rhoderick McGrigor |
| Succeeded by | Sir Charles Lambe |
| Governor-General of India | |
| In office 15 August 1947 – 21 June 1948 | |
| Monarch | George VI |
| Prime Minister | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Preceded by | Himself (As Viceroy and Governor-General of India) |
| Succeeded by | C. Rajagopalachari |
| Viceroy and Governor-General of India | |
| In office 21 February 1947 – 15 August 1947 | |
| Monarch | George VI |
| Prime Minister | Clement Attlee |
| Preceded by | The Viscount Wavell |
| Succeeded by |
|
| Member of the House of Lords | |
| Hereditary peerage 13 June 1946 – 27 August 1979 | |
| Preceded by | Peerage established |
| Succeeded by | The 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Prince Louis of Battenberg 25 June 1900 Frogmore House, Windsor, Berkshire, England |
| Died | 27 August 1979 (aged 79) Mullaghmore, County Sligo, Ireland |
| Manner of death | Assassination |
| Resting place | Romsey Abbey |
| Spouse | |
| Children | |
| Parents | |
| Alma mater | Christ's College, Cambridge |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch/service | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1913–1965 |
| Rank | Admiral of the Fleet |
| Commands | See list
|
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | See list |
Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg;[n 1] 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979), commonly known as Lord Mountbatten, was a British statesman, naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. He was born in the United Kingdom to the prominent Battenberg family. He was a maternal uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and a second cousin of King George VI. He joined the Royal Navy during the First World War and was appointed Supreme Allied Commander, South East Asia Command, in the Second World War. He later served as the last Viceroy of India and briefly as the first Governor-General of the Dominion of India.
Mountbatten attended the Royal Naval College, Osborne, before entering the Royal Navy in 1916. He saw action during the closing phase of the First World War, and after the war briefly attended Christ's College, Cambridge. During the interwar period, Mountbatten continued to pursue his naval career, specialising in naval communications. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, he commanded the destroyer HMS Kelly and the 5th Destroyer Flotilla. He saw considerable action in Norway, in the English Channel, and in the Mediterranean. In August 1941, he received command of the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious. He was appointed chief of Combined Operations and a member of the Chiefs of Staff Committee in early 1942, and organised the raids on St Nazaire and Dieppe. In August 1943, Mountbatten became Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia Command and oversaw the recapture of Burma and Singapore from the Japanese by the end of 1945. For his service during the war, Mountbatten was created viscount in 1946 and earl the following year.
In February 1947, Mountbatten was appointed Viceroy and Governor-General of India and oversaw the Partition of India into India and Pakistan. He then served as the first Governor-General of the Union of India until June 1948 and played a significant role in persuading princely states to accede to India.[1] In 1952, Mountbatten was appointed commander-in-chief of the British Mediterranean Fleet and NATO Commander Allied Forces Mediterranean. From 1955 to 1959, he was First Sea Lord, a position that had been held by his father, Prince Louis of Battenberg, some forty years earlier. Thereafter he served as chief of the Defence Staff until 1965, making him the longest-serving professional head of the British Armed Forces to date. During this period Mountbatten also served as chairman of the NATO Military Committee for a year.
In August 1979, Mountbatten was assassinated by a bomb planted aboard his fishing boat in Mullaghmore, County Sligo, Ireland, by members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army. He received a ceremonial funeral at Westminster Abbey and was buried in Romsey Abbey in Hampshire.
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- ^ Sanajaoba, Naorem (1991). Law and Society: Strategy for Public Choice, 2001. Mittal Publications. p. 223. ISBN 978-81-7099-271-4. Archived from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
The princely states had been wooed by Mountbatten, Patel and Nehru to join the Indian Dominion