biography
| name: |
Soames (of Fletching), (Arthur) Christopher (John) Soames, Baron
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1920–87)
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| biography:
| British statesman. He trained at Sandhurst Military Academy, served with the Coldstream Guards during World War 2, and in 1947 entered politics after marrying Mary, the daughter of Sir Winston Churchill. He became a Conservative MP in 1950, and held junior ministerial posts before becoming secretary of state for war (1958–60). Between 1960 and 1977 he served as agriculture minister, ambassador to France, and as a member of the European Commission. Made a life peer in 1979, he assumed the office of Lord President and Leader of the House of Lords, and was chosen by Margaret Thatcher to oversee Rhodesia's transition to Zimbabwe in 1980. |
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