Christopher Soames

The Lord Soames
The Right Honourable; The Lord Soames; GCMG GCVO CH CBE PC
	Soames in 1966
Governor of Southern Rhodesia
	In office; 11 December 1979 – 18 April 1980
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	Sir Humphrey Gibbs (1969); Josiah Zion Gumede;
Succeeded by	Canaan Banana
Member of the House of Lords; Lord Temporal
	In office; 19 April 1978 – 16 September 1987; Life peerage
Member of Parliament; for Bedford
	In office; 23 February 1950 – 10 March 1966
Preceded by	Tom Skeffington-Lodge
Succeeded by	Brian Parkyn
Euro-commissionerships
Vice-President of the European Commission
	In office; 6 January 1973 – 5 January 1977
President	François-Xavier Ortoli
European Commissioner for External Relations
	In office; 6 January 1973 – 5 January 1977
President	François-Xavier Ortoli
Preceded by	Jean-François Deniau
Succeeded by	Wilhelm Haferkamp
Diplomatic posts
Her Majesty's Ambassador to France
	In office; September 1968 – 27 October 1972
Preceded by	Patrick Reilly
Succeeded by	Edward Tomkins
Ministerial offices
Leader of the House of Lords; Lord President of the Council;
	In office; 5 May 1979 – 14 September 1981
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	The Lord Peart (Lords); Michael Foot (Council);
Succeeded by	The Baroness Young (Lords); Francis Pym (Council);
Shadow Foreign Secretary
	In office; 11 November 1965 – 13 April 1966
Leader	Edward Heath
Preceded by	Reginald Maudling
Succeeded by	Alec Douglas-Home
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
	In office; 27 July 1960 – 16 October 1964
Prime Minister	Harold Macmillan; Alec Douglas-Home;
Preceded by	John Hare
Succeeded by	Fred Peart
Secretary of State for War
	In office; 6 January 1958 – 27 July 1960
Prime Minister	Harold Macmillan
Preceded by	John Hare
Succeeded by	John Profumo
Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty
	In office; 9 January 1957 – 6 January 1958
Prime Minister	Harold Macmillan
Preceded by	Hon. George Ward
Succeeded by	Robert Allan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Air
	In office; 6 April 1955 – 9 January 1957
Prime Minister	Anthony Eden
Preceded by	Hon. George Ward
Succeeded by	Ian Orr-Ewing
Personal details
Born	Arthur Christopher John Soames; 12 October 1920; Penn, Buckinghamshire, England
Died	16 September 1987 (aged 66); Odiham, Hampshire, England
Resting place	St Martin's Church, Bladon
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Mary Churchill (m. 1947)
Relations	Winston Churchill (father‑in‑law)
Children	5; including Sir Nicholas, Emma and Rupert
Parents	Arthur Granville Soames (father)
Education	Eton College
Alma mater	Royal Military College, Sandhurst
	n.b.1 ^ as President of Zimbabwe Rhodesia; n.b.2 ^ as President of Zimbabwe;

Arthur Christopher John Soames, Baron Soames, GCMG, GCVO, CH, CBE, PC (12 October 1920 – 16 September 1987) was a British Conservative politician who served as a European Commissioner and the last Governor of Southern Rhodesia. He was previously Member of Parliament (MP) for Bedford from 1950 to 1966. He held several government posts and attained Cabinet rank.

Early life and education

Soames was born in Penn, Buckinghamshire, England, the son of Captain Arthur Granville Soames (the brother of Olave Baden-Powell, World Chief Guide, both descendants of a brewing family which had joined the landed gentry) by his marriage to Hope Mary Woodbine Parish. His parents divorced while he was a boy, and his mother married as her second husband Charles Rhys (later 8th Baron Dynevor), by whom she had further children including Richard Rhys, 9th Baron Dynevor.

Soames was educated at West Downs School, Eton College, and RMC Sandhurst.[1]

Political career

After military service during the Second World War, Soames served as the Assistant Military Attaché in Paris. He was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Bedford from 1950 to 1966 and served under Sir Anthony Eden as Under-Secretary of State for Air from 1955 to 1957 and under Harold Macmillan as Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty from 1957 to 1958. In the 1955 Birthday Honours he was invested as Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).[2]

In 1958 he was admitted to the Privy Council. He served under Macmillan as Secretary of State for War (outside the Cabinet) from 1958 to 1960 and then in the Cabinets of Macmillan and his successor Sir Alec Douglas-Home as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from July 1960 to 1964. Home had promised to promote him to Foreign Secretary if the Conservatives won the 1964 election, but they did not.[3]

Between 1965 and 1966, Soames was Shadow Foreign Secretary under Edward Heath. He lost his seat in Parliament in the 1966 general election. In 1968 Harold Wilson appointed him Ambassador to France,[4] where he served until 1972.[5] During his tenure as ambassador, he was involved in the February 1969 "Soames affair", following a private meeting between Soames and French president Charles De Gaulle, the latter offering bilateral talks concerning partnership for Britain in a larger and looser European Union, the talks not involving other members. An offer the British government eventually refused and that for a time strained Franco-British relations. He was then a Vice-President of the European Commission from 1973 to 1976. He was created a life peer on 19 April 1978 as Baron Soames, of Fletching in the County of East Sussex.[6]

He served as the interim Governor of Southern Rhodesia from 1979 to 1980, charged with administering the terms of the Lancaster House Agreement and overseeing its governmental transition into Zimbabwe. From 1979 to 1981, he was Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Lords under Margaret Thatcher, concurrent with his duties in Rhodesia.

Outside politics

Soames served as President of the Royal Agricultural Society of England in 1973, was non-executive director of N.M. Rothschild and Sons Ltd 1977–79, and a director of the Nat West Bank 1978–79.[7]

Honours

In date order:

Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) – 1942[7]
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) (Civil division) – 1955[7]
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) – 1972[8]
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) – 1972[9]
Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour (France) – 1972[10]
Robert Schuman Prize – 1976[7]
Companion of Honour (CH) – 1980[11]

Family

Christopher and Mary Soames in Lenzerheide, February 1947

Lord Soames married Mary (née Churchill), the youngest child of Winston and Clementine Churchill, on 11 February 1947. They had five children:

Sir Arthur Nicholas Winston Soames (b. 12 February 1948), former Conservative and independent member of Parliament, former Shadow Secretary of State for Defence;
Emma Mary Soames (b. 6 September 1949), editor of Saga magazine;
Jeremy Bernard Soames (b. 25 May 1952);
Charlotte Clementine Soames, the Countess Peel (b. 17 July 1954), married to the Earl Peel, the Lord Chamberlain;
Rupert Christopher Soames (b. 18 May 1959).

Death

Christopher and Mary Soames' grave at St Martin's Church, Bladon, in 2015

Lord Soames died from pancreatitis, aged 66. His ashes were buried within the Churchill plot at St Martin's Church, Bladon, near Woodstock, Oxfordshire.

Arms

Coat of arms of Christopher Soames
Crest In front of a rising sun Proper upon a lure Gules feathered Argent fesswise a falcon belled Or. Escutcheon Gules a chevron Or between in chief two mallets erect of the second and in base two wings conjoined in lure Argent. Motto Vilius Virtutibus Aurum[12]

References

"The Papers of Baron Soames". Janus Library, Cambridge. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
"No. 40497". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 June 1955. p. 3269.
Jago 2015, p.401
"No. 44723". The London Gazette. 26 November 1968. p. 12676.
"No. 45876". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 January 1973. p. 480.
"No. 47519". The London Gazette. 24 April 1978. p. 4731.
Mosley, Nicholas (editor) (1982). Debrett's Handbook 1982, Distinguished People in British Life. Debrett's Peerage Limited. p. 1435. ISBN 0-905649-38-9.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
"No. 45713". The London Gazette. 27 June 1972. p. 7689.
"No. 45554". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1972. p. 4.
The Papers of Baron Soames – Website Janus
"No. 48212". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 June 1980. p. 5.
Debrett's Peerage. 1985.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Tom Skeffington-Lodge	Member of Parliament for Bedford 1950–1966	Succeeded by Brian Parkyn
Political offices
Preceded by George Ward	Undersecretary of State for Air 1955–1957	Succeeded by Ian Orr-Ewing
Preceded by George Ward	Secretary to the Admiralty 1957–1958	Succeeded by Robert Allan
Preceded by John Hare	Secretary of State for War 1958–1960	Succeeded by John Profumo
Preceded by John Hare	Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 1960–1964	Succeeded by Fred Peart
Preceded by Reginald Maudling	Shadow Foreign Secretary 1965–1966	Succeeded by Alec Douglas-Home
New office	European Commissioner from the United Kingdom 1973–1977 Served alongside: George Thomson	Succeeded by Christopher Tugendhat
New office		Succeeded by Roy Jenkins
Preceded by Jean-François Deniau	European Commissioner for External Relations 1973–1977	Succeeded by Wilhelm Haferkamp
Preceded by Ralf Dahrendorf	European Commissioner for Trade 1973–1977	Succeeded by Wilhelm Haferkamp
Preceded by The Lord Peart	Leader of the House of Lords 1979–1981	Succeeded by The Baroness Young
Preceded by Michael Foot	Lord President of the Council 1979–1981	Succeeded by Francis Pym
Preceded by Humphrey Gibbs	Governor of Southern Rhodesia 1979–1980	Succeeded by Canaan Banana as President of Zimbabwe
Party political offices
Preceded by The Lord Carrington	Leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords 1979–1981	Succeeded by The Baroness Young
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Patrick Reilly	British Ambassador to France 1968–1972	Succeeded by Edward Tomkins

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "The Papers of Baron Soames". Janus Library, Cambridge. Retrieved 10 November 2014.

[2] "No. 40497". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 June 1955. p. 3269.

[3] Jago 2015, p.401

[4] "No. 44723". The London Gazette. 26 November 1968. p. 12676.

[5] "No. 45876". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 January 1973. p. 480.

[6] "No. 47519". The London Gazette. 24 April 1978. p. 4731.

[debrett-7] Mosley, Nicholas (editor) (1982). Debrett's Handbook 1982, Distinguished People in British Life. Debrett's Peerage Limited. p. 1435. ISBN 0-905649-38-9.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)

[8] "No. 45713". The London Gazette. 27 June 1972. p. 7689.

[9] "No. 45554". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1972. p. 4.

[10] The Papers of Baron Soames – Website Janus

[11] "No. 48212". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 June 1980. p. 5.

[12] Debrett's Peerage. 1985.

[nb 1]

[nb 2]

Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
Prime Minister's Office
to Henry Campbell-Bannerman	Carr-Gomm 1906–1908
to H. H. Asquith	Howard 1908–1909 Lyell 1908–1915
to David Lloyd George	Barran 1916–1918 D. Davies 1916–1918 Sutherland 1916–1918 Astor 1918 Sutherland 1919–1920 Sassoon 1920–1922
to Bonar Law	Davidson 1922–1923
to Stanley Baldwin	Herbert 1923–1924 Herbert 1924–1927 Rhys 1927–1929 Geoffery-Lloyd 1935 Dugdale 1935–1937
to Ramsay MacDonald	Weir 1924 Weir 1929–1931 Morrison 1929–1931 Markham 1931–1932 Glyn 1931–1935 Worthington 1931–1935
to Neville Chamberlain	Douglas-Home 1937–1940
to Winston Churchill	Bracken 1940–1941 Harvie-Watt 1941–1945 Soames 1952–1955
to Clement Attlee	de Freitas 1945–1946 Moyle 1946–1951
to Anthony Eden	Carr 1955 Allan 1955–1956
to Harold Macmillan	Barber 1957–1959 K. Cunningham 1959–1963
to Alec Douglas-Home	Pearson 1963–1964
to Harold Wilson	Fernyhough 1964–1967 Shore 1965–1966 H. Davies 1967–1970 Varley 1968–1969 Hamling 1974–1975 Marks 1975 Tomlinson 1975–1976
to Edward Heath	Kitson 1970–1974
to James Callaghan	J. Cunningham 1976–1977 Stott 1977–1979
to Margaret Thatcher	Gow 1979–1983 Alison 1983–1987 Hamilton 1987–1988 Lennox-Boyd 1988–1990 Morrison 1990
to John Major	Bright 1990–1994 Ward 1994–1997
to Tony Blair	Coffey 1997–1998 Grocott 1997–2001 Hanson 2001–2005 Hill 2005–2007
to Gordon Brown	Austin 2007–2008 Smith 2007–2009 Trickett 2008–2010 Snelgrove 2009–2010
to David Cameron	Swayne 2010–2012 Gyimah 2012–2013 Williamson 2013–2016
to Theresa May	Hollingbery 2016–2018 Kennedy 2017–2019 Bowie 2018–2019
to Boris Johnson	Burghart 2019–present Heappey 2019 Harrison 2019–present