The Lord Hailes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Governor-General of the West Indies Federation | |
| In office 3 January 1958 – 31 May 1962 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Grantley Herbert Adams |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1901-04-02)2 April 1901 |
| Died | 5 November 1974(1974-11-05) (aged 73) |
| Alma mater | Trinity College |
Patrick George Thomas Buchan-Hepburn, 1st Baron Hailes,GBE, CH, PC (2 April 1901 – 5 November 1974)[1] was a BritishConservative politician and the onlyGovernor-General of the short-livedWest Indies Federation from 1958 to 1962.
Buchan-Hepburn was the youngest son of Sir Archibald Buchan-Hepburn, 4th Baronet (seeBuchan-Hepburn baronets) and his wife Edith Agnes (née Karslake). He was educated atHarrow andTrinity College, Cambridge.[2]
Buchan-Hepburn was a personal secretary toWinston Churchill and aLondon County Councillor. Having stood unsuccessfully for election as aMember of Parliament (MP) inWolverhampton East at the1929 general election,[3] he became MP for theEast Toxteth division of Liverpool following aby-election in February 1931.[1][4] In November 1939, he was appointed a ParliamentaryWhip for theConservative Party and aLord of the Treasury.[5] In July 1940, almost a year into theSecond World War, he received an emergency commission as a second lieutenant into theRoyal Artillery.[6][7]
Returning to politics in 1945, Buchan-Hepburn became Deputy Whip and then, in 1948,Chief Whip. He was elected MP for the newly createdBeckenham constituency in Kent[8] after his East Toxteth constituency was abolished by boundary changes before the1950 general election. From 1951 to 1955, he was Government Chief Whip andParliamentary Secretary to the Treasury. In 1957, he was raised to thepeerage asBaron Hailes of Prestonkirk in the County of East Lothian.[9] Lord Hailes was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of theOrder of the British Empire in September 1957.[10]
When, in 1958, theWest Indies Federation was formed in response to complaints against Britishcolonialism in theCaribbean, Lord Hailes was appointed the Federation's first Governor-General and relocated toPort of Spain on the island ofTrinidad. Four years later, the new state was dissolved and he returned to England, where he served as Chairman of theHistoric Buildings Council (a predecessor ofEnglish Heritage, formally known as the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England).
In the 1962 Birthday Honours Lord Hailes was appointed aMember of the Order of the Companions of Honour.[11]
Buchan-Hepburn married Diana Mary, daughter of Brigadier-General the Hon. Charles Lambton and war widow of Major William Hedworth Williamson, in 1945. They had no children. He was step-father to Diana's son,Sir Nicholas Frederick Hedworth Williamson, 11th Baronet.
Buchan-Hepburn died in November 1974, aged 73, whence hisbarony became extinct.[2]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forEast Toxteth 1931–1950 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forBeckenham 1950–1957 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury 1951–1955 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baron Hailes 1957–1974 | Extinct |