biography
| name: |
Baldwin (of Bewdley), Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1867–1947)
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| biography:
| British statesman and prime minister (1923–4, 1924–9, 1935–7), born in Bewdley, Hereford and Worcester, WC England, UK. He studied at Cambridge, and became vice-chairman of the family iron and steel business. A Conservative MP in 1908, he became President of the Board of Trade (1921), and unexpectedly succeeded Bonar Law as premier. His period of office included the General Strike (1926) and was interrupted by the Ramsay MacDonald coalition (1931–5), in which he served as Lord President of the Council. He skilfully avoided a party split by his India Act (1935), but the Hoare-Laval pact and the policy of non-intervention in Spain (1936) came to be regarded as betrayals of the League of Nations. He displayed considerable resolution during the constitutional crisis culminating in Edward VIII's abdication (1937). He had the party politician's sure touch in domestic matters, but was criticized for his apparent failure to recognize the threat from Nazi Germany. He resigned and was made an earl in 1937. |
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