The Earl Stanhope | |
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| Leader of the House of Lords | |
| In office 21 February 1938 – 14 May 1940 | |
| Prime Minister | Neville Chamberlain |
| Preceded by | The Viscount Halifax |
| Succeeded by | The Viscount Caldecote |
| Lord President of the Council | |
| In office 3 September 1939 – 10 May 1940 | |
| Prime Minister | Neville Chamberlain |
| Preceded by | The Viscount Runciman of Doxford |
| Succeeded by | Neville Chamberlain |
| First Lord of the Admiralty | |
| In office 27 October 1938 – 3 September 1939 | |
| Prime Minister | Neville Chamberlain |
| Preceded by | Duff Cooper |
| Succeeded by | Winston Churchill |
| President of the Board of Education | |
| In office 28 May 1937 – 27 October 1938 | |
| Prime Minister | Neville Chamberlain |
| Preceded by | Hon. Oliver Stanley |
| Succeeded by | The Earl De La Warr |
| First Commissioner of Works | |
| In office 16 June 1936 – 27 May 1937 | |
| Prime Minister | Stanley Baldwin |
| Preceded by | Hon. William Ormsby-Gore |
| Succeeded by | Sir Philip Sassoon, Bt |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 18 January 1934 – 16 June 1936 | |
| Prime Minister | Ramsay MacDonald Stanley Baldwin |
| Preceded by | Anthony Eden |
| Succeeded by | Viscount Cranborne |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for War | |
| In office 10 November 1931 – 18 January 1934 | |
| Prime Minister | Ramsay MacDonald |
| Preceded by | The Lord Marley |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal |
| Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty | |
| In office 24 August 1931 – 10 November 1931 | |
| Prime Minister | Ramsay MacDonald |
| Preceded by | Charles Ammon |
| Succeeded by | Lord Stanley |
| Civil Lord of the Admiralty | |
| In office 11 November 1924 – 7 June 1929 | |
| Prime Minister | Stanley Baldwin |
| Preceded by | Frank Hodges |
| Succeeded by | George Hall |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the War Office | |
| In office 14 December 1916 – 10 January 1919 | |
| Prime Minister | David Lloyd George |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Member of theHouse of Lords | |
Lord Temporal | |
| In office 20 April 1905 – 15 August 1967 | |
| Preceded by | The 6th Earl Stanhope |
| Succeeded by | The 11th Earl of Harrington [a] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Richard Stanhope (1880-11-11)11 November 1880 |
| Died | 15 August 1967(1967-08-15) (aged 86) |
| Nationality | British |
| Party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Lady Eileen Browne (1889–1940)[1] |
| Parent(s) | Arthur Stanhope, 6th Earl Stanhope Evelyn Pennefather |
James Richard Stanhope, 7th Earl Stanhope, 13th Earl of Chesterfield (11 November 1880 – 15 August 1967), styledViscount Mahon until 1905, was a BritishConservative politician.
Stanhope was the eldest son ofArthur Stanhope, 6th Earl Stanhope, and Evelyn Henrietta (née Pennefather), daughter ofRichard Pennefather of Knockeevan,County Tipperary, and Lady Emily Butler, daughter of the1st Earl of Glengall. The Hon.Edward Stanhope andPhilip Stanhope, 1st Baron Weardale, were his uncles.[citation needed]
Lord Mahon was commissioned asecond lieutenant in theGrenadier Guards on 5 January 1901,[2] and went with his battalion to serve in South Africa during theSecond Boer War. Following the end of this war in June 1902, he returned with a large contingent of men from the guards regiments on board the SSLake Michigan, which arrived in Southampton in October 1902.[3]
Stanhope entered theHouse of Lords on the death of his father in 1905, and made his maiden speech in November 1909.[4] He held his first office asParliamentary Secretary to the War Office underDavid Lloyd George between 1918 and 1919. In 1924 he was appointedCivil Lord of the Admiralty underStanley Baldwin, a post he held until the Conservatives lost power in 1929. The latter year he was also sworn of thePrivy Council.[5] After the formation of the National Government in 1931 he served underRamsay MacDonald asParliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty in 1931, asUnder-Secretary of State for War between 1931 and 1934 and asUnder-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the last year under the premiership of Stanley Baldwin. In 1934 he was made aKnight Companion of the Garter.
He entered the cabinet in June 1936 when Baldwin appointed himFirst Commissioner of Works. WhenNeville Chamberlain became Prime Minister in May 1937 Stanhope was madePresident of the Board of Education, and in February 1938 he also succeededEdward Wood, 3rd Viscount Halifax, asLeader of the House of Lords. In October 1938 he becameFirst Lord of the Admiralty while continuing as Leader of the House of Lords. After the outbreak of theSecond World War in September 1939, he was succeeded as First Lord of the Admiralty byWinston Churchill and appointedLord President of the Council. He remained as Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President until Churchill became Prime Minister in 1940. However, he did not serve in theChurchill coalition government and never returned to ministerial office. He made his last speech in the House of Lords in December 1960.[4]
In July 1940, Stanhope and several other national politicians—including Baldwin and Chamberlain—were targeted in the polemicGuilty Men.[6] This publication accused these men of failing to prepare Britain forthe looming war, and of appeasingNazi Germany during the 1930s.[7] The accusations made inGuilty Men have subsequently been questioned by some critics.[8][9]
Lord Stanhope married Lady Eileen Browne (1889–1940), the eldest daughter ofGeorge Browne, 6th Marquess of Sligo, and Agatha Stewart Hodgson, granddaughter ofWilliam Forsyth. They had no children. She died in September 1940, aged 51. With the death ofEdward Scudamore-Stanhope, 12th Earl of Chesterfield, in 1952, Lord Stanhope inherited the peerage titlesEarl of Chesterfield andBaron Stanhope, but did not apply for awrit of summons for the more senior Earldom of Chesterfield, and continued to be known as the Earl Stanhope. Stanhope died in August 1967, aged 86. On his death both earldoms and the barony of Stanhope became extinct, whereas the viscountcy of Stanhope of Mahon and the barony of Stanhope of Elvaston passed to his nearest heir,William Stanhope, 11th Earl of Harrington.[citation needed] Lord Stanhope left his country seatChevening to the nation.
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| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Civil Lord of the Admiralty 1924–1929 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty 1931 | Succeeded by |
| Vacant | Under-Secretary of State for War 1931–1934 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs 1934–1936 With:Viscount Cranborne1935–1936 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | First Commissioner of Works 1936–1937 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Board of Education 1937–1938 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the House of Lords 1938–1940 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | First Lord of the Admiralty 1938–1939 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord President of the Council 1939–1940 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords 1938–1940 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of England | ||
| Preceded by | Earl of Chesterfield 1952–1967 | Extinct |
| Peerage of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by | Earl Stanhope 1905–1967 | Extinct |
| Viscount Stanhope of Mahon 1905–1967 | Succeeded by | |
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