David Lloyd George

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The Right Honourable David Lloyd George OM PC
Lloyd George c. 1919
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 6 December 1916 – 19 October 1922
Monarch	George V
Preceded by	H. H. Asquith
Succeeded by	Bonar Law
Leader of the Liberal Party
In office 14 October 1926 – 4 November 1931
Preceded by	H. H. Asquith
Succeeded by	Herbert Samuel
Secretary of State for War
In office 6 July 1916 – 5 December 1916
Prime Minister	H. H. Asquith
Preceded by	The Earl Kitchener
Succeeded by	The Earl of Derby
Minister of Munitions
In office 25 May 1915 – 9 July 1916
Prime Minister	H. H. Asquith
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Edwin Montagu
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office 12 April 1908 – 25 May 1915
Prime Minister	H. H. Asquith
Preceded by	H. H. Asquith
Succeeded by	Reginald McKenna
President of the Board of Trade
In office 10 December 1905 – 12 April 1908
Prime Minister	Henry Campbell-Bannerman H. H. Asquith
Preceded by	The Marquess of Salisbury
Succeeded by	Winston Churchill
Father of the House of Commons
In office 31 May 1929 – 13 February 1945
Preceded by	T. P. O'Connor
Succeeded by	The Earl Winterton
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Hereditary peerage 1 January 1945 – 26 March 1945
Succeeded by	The 2nd Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor
Member of Parliament for Carnarvon Boroughs
In office 10 April 1890 – 13 February 1945
Preceded by	Edmund Swetenham[1]: 13
Succeeded by	Seaborne Davies
Personal details
Born	David George (1863-01-17)17 January 1863 Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, England
Died	26 March 1945(1945-03-26) (aged 82) Llanystumdwy, Wales
Resting place	Llanystumdwy, Wales
Political party	Liberal (1890–1916; 1924–1945) Coalition Liberal (1916–1922) National Liberal (1922–1923)
Spouses	Margaret Owen ​ ​ (m. 1888; died 1941)​ Frances Stevenson ​ (m. 1943)​
Children	5, including: Richard Lloyd George, 2nd Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor Dame Olwen Carey Evans Gwilym Lloyd George, 1st Viscount Tenby Lady Megan Lloyd George
Relatives	William George (brother)
Occupation	Solicitor politician
Signature

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David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor^[a] OM PC (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leading the United Kingdom during the First World War, for social-reform policies, for his role in the Paris Peace Conference, and for negotiating the establishment of the Irish Free State. He was the last Liberal prime minister; the party fell into third-party status towards the end of his premiership.

Lloyd George gained a reputation as an orator and proponent of a Welsh blend of radical Liberal ideas, which included support for Welsh devolution, disestablishment of the Church of England in Wales, equality for labourers and tenant farmers, and reform of land ownership. In 1890 he won a by-election to become the Member of Parliament for Caernarvon Boroughs, in which seat he remained for 55 years. He served in Henry Campbell-Bannerman's cabinet from 1905. After H. H. Asquith succeeded to the premiership in 1908, Lloyd George replaced him as Chancellor. To fund extensive welfare reforms he proposed taxes on land ownership and high incomes in the "People's Budget" (1909), which the Conservative-dominated House of Lords rejected. The resulting constitutional crisis was only resolved after elections in 1910 and passage of the Parliament Act 1911. His budget was enacted in 1910, and the National Insurance Act 1911 and other measures helped to establish the modern welfare state. In 1913, he was embroiled in the Marconi scandal, but remained in office and secured the disestablishment of the Church of England in Wales.

In 1915, Lloyd George became Minister of Munitions and expanded artillery shell production for the war. In 1916, he was appointed Secretary of State for War but was frustrated by his limited power and clashes with Army commanders over strategy. Asquith proved ineffective as prime minister and was replaced by Lloyd George in December 1916. He centralised authority by creating a smaller war cabinet. To combat food shortages caused by u-boats, he implemented the convoy system, established rationing, and stimulated farming. After supporting the disastrous French Nivelle Offensive in 1917, he had to reluctantly approve Field Marshal Haig's plans for the Battle of Passchendaele, which resulted in huge casualties with little strategic benefit. Against British military commanders, he was finally able to see the Allies brought under one command in March 1918. The war effort turned in Allied favour and was won in November. Following the December 1918 "Coupon" election, he and the Conservatives maintained their coalition with popular support.

Lloyd George was a leading proponent at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, but the situation in Ireland worsened, erupting into the Irish War of Independence, which lasted until Lloyd George negotiated independence for the Irish Free State in 1921. At home, he initiated education and housing reforms, but trade-union militancy rose to record levels, the economy became depressed in 1920 and unemployment rose; spending cuts followed in 1921–22, and in 1922 he became embroiled in a scandal over the sale of honours and the Chanak Crisis. The Carlton Club meeting decided the Conservatives should end the coalition and contest the next election alone. Lloyd George resigned as prime minister, but continued as the leader of a Liberal faction. After an awkward reunion with Asquith's faction in 1923, Lloyd George led the weak Liberal Party from 1926 to 1931. He proposed innovative schemes for public works and other reforms, but made only modest gains in the 1929 election. After 1931, he was a mistrusted figure heading a small rump of breakaway Liberals opposed to the National Government. In 1940, he refused to serve in Churchill's War Cabinet. He was elevated to the peerage in 1945, very shortly before his death.

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