The Marquess of Lothian | |
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British Ambassador to the United States | |
In office 1 September 1939 – 12 December 1940 | |
Monarch | George VI |
Prime Minister | Neville Chamberlain Winston Churchill |
Preceded by | Sir Ronald Lindsay |
Succeeded by | The Viscount Halifax |
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | |
In office 25 August 1931 – 10 November 1931 | |
Monarch | George V |
Prime Minister | Ramsay MacDonald |
Preceded by | The Lord Ponsonby |
Succeeded by | J. C. C. Davidson |
Personal details | |
Born | London, England, United Kingdom | 18 April 1882
Died | 12 December 1940 Washington, D.C., U.S. | (aged 58)
Political party | Liberal |
Alma mater | New College, Oxford |
Signature | |
Philip Henry Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian, KT, CH, PC, DL (18 April 1882 – 12 December 1940) was a British politician, diplomat and newspaper editor. He was private secretary to Prime Minister David Lloyd George between 1916 and 1921. After succeeding a cousin in the marquessate in 1930, he held minor office from 1931 to 1932 in the National Government, headed by Ramsay MacDonald.
In the late 1930s, he was a leading advocate of appeasement of Germany and emphasised the harshness of the Treaty of Versailles and the dangers of Stalin's communism. From 1939 to his death, he was Ambassador to the United States. He proved highly successful in winning America's support for the British war effort, especially the Lend-Lease Act, which passed Congress after his death.