The Lord Carrington | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Carrington in 1984 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6th Secretary General of NATO | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 25 June 1984 – 1 July 1988 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Joseph Luns | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Manfred Wörner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 4 May 1979 – 5 April 1982 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | David Owen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Francis Pym | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of theHouse of Lords | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lord Temporal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| as ahereditary peer 6 June 1940 – 11 November 1999 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | The 5th Baron Carrington | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Seat abolished [a] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| as alife peer 17 November 1999 – 9 July 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Peter Alexander Rupert Carington (1919-06-06)6 June 1919 London, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 9 July 2018(2018-07-09) (aged 99) Bledlow, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Conservative | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 3, includingRupert | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Royal Military College, Sandhurst | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Military service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allegiance | United Kingdom | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Branch/service |  British Army | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years of service | 1939–1949(inactive from 1945) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank | Major | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unit | Grenadier Guards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Battles/wars | Second World War | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Awards | Military Cross | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service No. | 85592 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, Baron Carington of Upton (6 June 1919 – 9 July 2018), was aBritish Conservative Party politician andhereditary peer who served asDefence Secretary from 1970 to 1974,Foreign Secretary from 1979 to 1982, chairman of theGeneral Electric Company from 1983 to 1984, andSecretary General of NATO from 1984 to 1988. InMargaret Thatcher's first government, he played a major role in negotiating theLancaster House Agreement that ended the conflict inRhodesia and enabled the creation ofZimbabwe. Carington later served as the Chairman of the Steering Committee for theBilderberg Group's meetings from 1990 to 1998.
Carington was Foreign Secretary in 1982 whenArgentina invaded the Falkland Islands. He took full responsibility for the failure to foresee this and resigned. AsNATO secretary general, he helped prevent a war between Greece and Turkey during the1987 Aegean crisis.[1]
Following theHouse of Lords Act 1999, which removed the automatic right of hereditary peers to sit in theHouse of Lords, Carington was created alife peer as Baron Carington of Upton.
The surname "Carrington" (with two Rs) was adopted by royal licence dated 1839 by his direct male ancestorRobert Carrington, 2nd Baron Carrington, in lieu of Smith.[2] The latter's father,Robert Smith, MP for Nottingham, was createdBaron Carrington in 1796 (Peerage of Ireland) and 1797 (Peerage of Great Britain).[3] The spelling of the surname was changed by royal licence to "Carington" (with one r) in 1880 by the 2nd Baron's sons, but the spelling of the title did not change.
Born inChelsea on 6 June 1919,[4][5] Peter Alexander Rupert Carington[6] was the only son of the5th Baron Carrington by his wife, the Hon. Sybil Marion Colville, a daughter ofCharles Colville, 2nd Viscount Colville of Culross.[7] His great-uncles were theLiberal statesmanCharles Wynn-Carington, 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire, and politician and courtier the Hon.Sir William Carington.[citation needed] Carington grew up in Millaton House, inBridestowe, Devon.[8] He went toSandroyd School from 1928 to 1932,[9] based at that time inCobham, Surrey, andEton College. On leaving Eton, his housemaster, Cyril Butterwick, said of Carington, "For a really stupid boy, there are three possible professions: farming, soldiering and stockbroking".[6]
After training at theRoyal Military College, Sandhurst, Carington was commissioned into theGrenadier Guards as asecond lieutenant on 26 January 1939.[10] He served with the regiment during theSecond World War, was promoted tolieutenant on 1 January 1941,[11] and later temporarycaptain[12] and actingmajor. Carington was a tank commander duringOperation Market Garden in the Netherlands in 1944. He led the first group of fourSherman tanks to cross theNijmegen road bridge across theWaal River and was awarded theMilitary Cross (MC) on 1 March 1945 "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in North West Europe".[13][12] After the war, Carington remained in the army until 1949.[14]
In 1938, Carington succeededhis father as 6th Baron Carrington. Although he became eligible to take his seat in theHouse of Lords on his 21st birthday in 1940, since he was on active service, he did not do so until 9 October 1945.[15] After leaving the Army, Carington became involved in politics, and served in the Conservative governments ofWinston Churchill andAnthony Eden asParliamentary secretary to theMinister of Agriculture and Food from November 1951 to October 1954. He was also appointeddeputy lieutenant ofBuckinghamshire on 2 July 1951.[16] During theCrichel Down affair, which led to the resignation of ministerThomas Dugdale, Carington tendered his resignation, which was refused by the Prime Minister. Carington was Parliamentary Secretary to theMinister of Defence from October 1954 to October 1956, and was then appointedHigh Commissioner to Australia, a post he held until October 1959. He became aPrivy Counsellor in 1959.[17]
Following his return to Britain he served underHarold Macmillan asFirst Lord of the Admiralty until October 1963.[18] In this role, Carington worked withLord Mountbatten, who wasChief of the Defence Staff, during a time of major restructuring and reform of theAdmiralty.[19] AfterAlec Douglas-Home became prime minister in October 1963, Carington held the posts ofminister without portfolio andLeader of the House of Lords until October 1964, when thegeneral election led to a change of government. From 1964 to 1970 he wasLeader of the Opposition in theHouse of Lords.
When the Conservatives returned to power in 1970 underEdward Heath, Carington becameDefence Secretary, where he remained until theFebruary 1974 general election. In a 1977 letter discussing the policy of torture ofIrish republican internees duringOperation Demetrius in August 1971, the then Home SecretaryMerlyn Rees attributed the origins of the policy to Carington: '"It is my view (confirmed byBrian Faulkner before his death [NI's prime minister at the time]) that the decision to use methods of torture in Northern Ireland in 1971/72 was taken by ministers – in particular Lord Carrington, then secretary of state for defence."[20][21]
Carington became shadow defence secretary in 1968 afterEnoch Powell was dismissed, following his controversialRivers of Blood speech on immigration.[22] He also served asChairman of the Conservative Party from 1972 to 1974, and was brieflySecretary of State for Energy from January to March 1974.
Carington was again leader of the opposition in the House of Lords from 1974 to 1979. In 1979 he was madeForeign Secretary andMinister for Overseas Development in the first cabinet ofMargaret Thatcher. Thatcher spoke highly of Carington, stating that "Peter had great panache and the ability to identify immediately the main points in any argument; and he could express himself in pungent terms. We had disagreements, but there were never any hard feelings."[23]
Carington chaired theLancaster House conference in 1979, attended byIan Smith,Abel Muzorewa,Robert Mugabe,Joshua Nkomo andJosiah Tongogara, which brought to an endRhodesia'sBush War. He later expressed his support for Mugabe over Smith.[24]
Carington was primarily responsible for ensuring the1982 Canada Act passed the House of Lords. Under the provisions of the act, which receivedRoyal Assent on 29 March 1982, the British Parliament renounced any future role in amending theCanadian constitution, a process known in the former dominion aspatriation.
Carington was foreign secretary when Argentinainvaded theFalkland Islands on 2 April 1982. He resigned his position on 5 April, taking full responsibility for the complacency of theForeign and Commonwealth Office in its failure to foresee this development[25] and for the misleading signals sent by the Foreign Office on British intentions for retaining control over the Falklands.[26] In her autobiography,Margaret Thatcher later expressed her sorrow at his departure.[27] She had asked him to stay but he left because he and the Foreign Office were distrusted and even hated by many back-bench Conservatives.[28]
Lord Carrington was the most recenthereditary peer to hold one of the fourGreat Offices of State.[29]
Carington served asSecretary General of NATO from 1984 to 1988. He was chairman of theVictoria and Albert Museum from 1983 to 1988.[30] He was appointed Chancellor of theOrder of St Michael and St George on 1 August 1984,[31] serving until June 1994.[32]
In 1991, he presided over diplomatic talks about thebreakup of Yugoslavia and attempted to pass a plan to end the wars and result in each republic becoming an independent nation.[33]
Aside from his political posts, Carington was chancellor of theUniversity of Reading and served as chairman of several companies, includingChristie's, and as a director of many others, includingBarclays Bank,Cadbury Schweppes andThe Daily Telegraph. He also chaired theBilderberg conferences from 1990 to 1998, being succeeded in 1999 byÉtienne Davignon.[34] From 1983 to 2002, he was president of thePilgrims Society,[35][36] and from 1971 to 2018 president of theBritain–Australia Society.[37] He was appointedChancellor of the Order of the Garter on 8 November 1994,[38] a role from which he retired in October 2012.[39]
After theHouse of Lords Act 1999 removed the automatic right of hereditary peers to sit in theHouse of Lords, Carington, along with all former leaders of the House of Lords, was given alife peerage on 17 November 1999. He took this as Baron Carington of Upton, of Upton in the County of Nottinghamshire.[40] He was the longest-serving member of the House of Lords, and following the retirement ofLord Barber of Tewkesbury in 2016, had been the oldest. He was the second longest-serving member of thePrivy Council after theDuke of Edinburgh.
Carington died from pneumonia on 9 July 2018, aged 99, at his home, the Manor House, inBledlow, Buckinghamshire.[41][42][43] His sonRupert succeeded him asBaron Carrington.[6]
A memorial service was held at Westminster Abbey on 31 January 2019.[44]
Carington married Iona McClean (19 March 1920 – 7 June 2009), daughter of Lt Col.Sir Francis McClean and Aileen Wale, on 25 April 1942. They had three children: Alexandra de Bunsen (born 1943), Virginia Carington (born 1946; formerly married toLord Ashcombe),[45] andRupert Carington, 7th Baron Carrington (born 1948). Carington's wife, Lady Carrington, died on 7 June 2009, aged 89.[46][43]
Carington was a guest onBBC Radio 4's long-running programmeDesert Island Discs in 1975[47] and on the same station'sA Good Read in 2004.[48]
In the 1977 war filmA Bridge Too Far,John Stride played a Grenadier Guards captain atNijmegen Bridge based on Carington. This portrayal depicted the historical argument between Carington and MajorJulian Cook on whether to move forward along the "Hell's Highway" route.[49]
In February 1982 Carington was portrayed byRowan Atkinson in aNot the Nine O'Clock News parody ofQuestion Time, pedantically discussing an imminentnuclear holocaust.[50][51]
Carington was portrayed byJames Fox in the 2002BBC production ofIan Curteis'sThe Falklands Play.[52]He was also briefly portrayed byJames Smith in the 2011 filmThe Iron Lady,[53] and byJeff Rawle in the 2014 playHandbagged.[54]
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| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries 1951–1954 Served alongside:Richard Nugent | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Defence 1954–1956 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | First Lord of the Admiralty 1959–1963 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister without Portfolio 1963–1964 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the House of Lords 1963–1964 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Defence 1970–1974 | Succeeded by |
| New office | Secretary of State for Energy 1974 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Foreign Secretary 1979–1982 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | High Commissioner to Australia 1956–1959 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary General of NATO 1984–1988 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of the Conservative Party in theHouse of Lords 1963–1970 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Conservative Party 1972–1974 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the Conservative Party in theHouse of Lords 1974–1979 | Succeeded by |
| Business positions | ||
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Australia and New Zealand Bank Ltd 1967–1969 | Merged into ANZ Banking Group |
| New title | Chairman of ANZ Banking Group 1969–1970 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chancellor of theUniversity of Reading 1992–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Chancellor of theOrder of the Garter 1994–2012 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Longest-serving member in the House of Lords 2007–2018 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
| Preceded by | Baron Carrington 2nd creation 1938–2018 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by | Baron Carrington 3rd creation 1938–2018 Member of theHouse of Lords (1940–1999) | Succeeded by |
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