Sir Donald Maclean | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 14 December 1918 – 12 February 1920 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | David Lloyd George |
| Preceded by | H. H. Asquith |
| Succeeded by | H. H. Asquith |
| President of the Board of Education | |
| In office 25 August 1931 – 15 June 1932 | |
| Prime Minister | Ramsay MacDonald |
| Preceded by | Hastings Lees-Smith |
| Succeeded by | Edward Wood |
| President of the Liberal Party | |
| In office 1923 – 14 October 1926 | |
| Leader | H. H. Asquith |
| Preceded by | J. M. Robertson |
| Succeeded by | J. A. Spender |
| Member of Parliament forNorth Cornwall | |
| In office 30 May 1929 – 15 June 1932 | |
| Preceded by | Alfred Williams |
| Succeeded by | Francis Acland |
| Member of Parliament forPeebles and Southern Midlothian Peebles and Selkirk (1910–1918) | |
| In office 19 December 1910 – 26 October 1922 | |
| Preceded by | William Younger |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Westwood |
| Member of Parliament forBath | |
| In office 8 February 1906 – 10 February 1910 | |
| Preceded by | Edmond Wodehouse |
| Succeeded by | Lord Alexander Thynne |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Donald Maclean 9 January 1864 (1864-01-09) Farnworth, nearBolton,Lancashire, England |
| Died | 15 June 1932(1932-06-15) (aged 68) London, England |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse | |
Sir Donald MacleanKBE (9 January 1864 – 15 June 1932) was a BritishLiberal Party politician in theUnited Kingdom. He wasLeader of the Opposition between 1918 and 1920 and served in the Cabinet ofRamsay MacDonald'sNational Government asPresident of the Board of Education from 1931 until his death in June the following year.
Born inFarnworth, nearBolton,Lancashire, Maclean was the eldest son of John Maclean, acordwainer originally ofTiree in theInner Hebrides, and his wife Agnes Macmillan.[1] His younger brother wasSir Ewen Maclean.[2]
Maclean practiced as asolicitor with practices in Cardiff andLincoln's Inn Fields, London. A member of thePresbyterian Church of England, he was vice-president of the Cardiff Free Church Council in 1902–3, and also worked closely with theNational Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. He was a last-minute choice as one of theLiberal Party candidates inBath at the1900 general election, but was defeated at the polls.[3] At the1906 general election, he stood again and was elected as a LiberalMember of Parliament for the constituency.[4] Whilst an MP, he voted in favour of the 1908 Women's Enfranchisement Bill.[5]
He lost his seat at theJanuary 1910 general election, but moved constituency at theDecember 1910 general election and was returned forPeebles and Selkirk,[6] a seat he held until 1918.[7] He then representedPeebles and South Midlothian between 1918 and 1922,[7] losing in the1922 United Kingdom general election, and then theNorthern Division of Cornwall between 1929 and 1932.[8]
Maclean was appointed aPrivy Counsellor in 1916,[9] and was knighted in 1917.[10] He was Leader of the Liberal Parliamentary Party from 1918 to 1920, as the leader of theLiberal Party,H. H. Asquith had lost his seat in theHouse of Commons. For those two years he also served asLeader of the Opposition, whileLabour had no official leader andSinn Féin had proclaimed theIrish Republic and theFirst Dail.[11]
Towards the end of his life, Maclean joined theNational Government headed byRamsay MacDonald. He served asPresident of the Board of Education from 1931 to 1932.[12]
He died fromcardiovascular disease on 15 June 1932 at the age of sixty-eight.[12]: 23
Maclean married Gwendolen Margaret Devitt (26 September 1880 – 23 July 1962), daughter of Andrew Devitt (1850–1931) and Jane Dales Morrison (1856–1947), on 2 October 1907. They are buried in the churchyard of Holy Trinity Church,Penn,Buckinghamshire, together with their eldest son, Ian. The diplomat and spy,Donald Duart Maclean, was another of his sons; his ashes are also buried there. The couple also had two more sons and a daughter.[12]: 11
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forBath 1906 –January 1910 With:George Peabody Gooch | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forPeebles and Selkirk December 1910 – 1918 | Constituency renamed Peebles and Southern Midlothian |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forPeebles and Southern Midlothian 1918–1922 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forNorth Cornwall 1929–1932 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of the Opposition 1918–1920 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Board of Education 1931–1932 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chairman of theScottish Liberal Federation c.1924–1928 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the National Liberal Federation 1923–1926 | Succeeded by |
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