Sir Alec Douglas-Home - Museum of the Prime Minister (2025)

There are two problems in my life. The political ones are insoluble and the economic ones are incomprehensible.

Image credit: A portrait of Sir Alec Douglas-Home the new UK Prime Minister, unknown photographer for Anefo Nationaal Archief, the Dutch National Archives.

Alec Douglas-Home was born in Mayfair in 1903, son of Lord Dunglass. His upbringing was conventional: Eton, followed by Christ Church College, Oxford.

During the 1920s, he played first-class cricket for Oxford University Cricket Club, Middlesex County Cricket Club, and Marylebone Cricket Club. He also served in the Territorial Army.

In 1931, he won the seat of Lanark for the Conservatives and entered the House of Commons. Douglas-Home (then known by his courtesy title of Lord Dunglass) became Parliamentary Private Secretary to Chancellor Neville Chamberlain. When Chamberlain became Prime Minister in 1937, he retained Dunglass as his PPS. Dunglass even accompanied Chamberlain on the Munich visit in September 1938.

When war began in 1939, Dunglass volunteered for military service. However, a medical examination revealed that he had a severely damaged spine and tuberculosis in his back bones. An operation was performed to remove the bone and replace it in September 1940. Then, for the next two years, he would be mostly bedbound, awaiting recovery. He only returned to the Commons in 1943. He was briefly a minister in Churchill’s Conservative government in May 1945. Dunglass lost his seat in the 1945 election.

Dunglass won Lanark back in 1950. In July 1951, the old earl died, and Dunglass succeeded him, becoming Earl of Home and entering the House of Lords. He had a variety of ministerial roles during the 1950s, largely focused on foreign policy. In March 1957, Macmillan made Home leader of the House of Lords. In 1960, Macmillan appointed Home Foreign Secretary, with Heath as his deputy in the Commons.

In October 1963, Macmillan resigned due to ill health. An opaque Conservative leadership contest followed, which saw Home appointed Prime Minister.

Home’s first task was to disclaim his peerage, after which he was known as Sir Alec Douglas-Home, and run for a safe seat. He quickly secured Kinross and West Perthshire, winning it on 12 November. For twenty days, Douglas-Home was a Prime Minister without a seat in either House of Parliament.

Douglas-Home’s premiership was too short lived for any significant legislation or reform. Douglas-Home was defeated in the 1964 election by Harold Wilson, who gained a majority of just 4 seats.

Douglas-Home is relatively unique amongst recent Prime Ministers to have returned to Cabinet after being Prime Minister. He was Foreign Secretary in Heath’s 1970-74 government. He returned to the Lords in 1975. He died in 1995.

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