Citizendia

For other persons named Edward Heath, see Edward Heath (disambiguation). Edward Heath was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Other persons named Edward Heath include Edward Heath (mayor of New Orleans, mayor
The Right Honourable
 Sir Edward Heath 
KG MBE
Edward Heath
In office
19 June 1970 – 4 March 1974
MonarchElizabeth II
Preceded byHarold Wilson
Succeeded byHarold Wilson
In office
20 October 1963 – 16 October 1964
Prime MinisterAlec Douglas-Home
Preceded byFred Erroll
Succeeded byDouglas Jay
In office
14 October 1959 – 27 July 1960
Prime MinisterHarold Macmillan
Preceded byIain MacLeod
Succeeded byJohn Hare
In office
July 28, 1965 – June 19, 1970
Prime MinisterHarold Wilson
Preceded byAlec Douglas-Home
Succeeded byHarold Wilson
In office
March 4, 1974 – February 11, 1975
Prime MinisterHarold Wilson
Preceded byHarold Wilson
Succeeded byMargaret Thatcher
BornJuly 9, 1916(1916-07-09)
Broadstairs, Kent, United Kingdom
Died17 July 2005 (aged 89)
Salisbury, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
Political partyConservative
Alma materBalliol College, Oxford
ProfessionJournalist/ Civil Servant
ReligionAnglican

Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, MBE (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. The Right Honourable (abbreviated as The Rt Hon) is an Honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an Order of chivalry, or Knighthood, originating in Medieval England, and presently bestowed on recipients The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom Events 1179 - The Norwegian Battle of Kalvskinnet outside Nidaros. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II James Harold Wilson Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 &ndash 24 May 1995 was one of the most prominent British politicians James Harold Wilson Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 &ndash 24 May 1995 was one of the most prominent British politicians The Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (formerly the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry before the June 28, 2007 Events 1740 - Maria Theresa takes the throne of Austria. France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC (2 July 1903 - 9 October 1995 14th Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 was a British Frederick James Erroll 1st Baron Erroll of Hale TD PC ( 27 May 1914 &ndash 14 September 2000) was a British Conservative Douglas Patrick Thomas Jay Baron Jay, PC ( 23 March 1907 &ndash 6 March 1996) was a British Labour Party politician The Secretary of State for Employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The Secretary of State for Employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. Events 1066 - Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings - In England on Senlac Hill seven miles from Hastings, the forces The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1214 - Battle of Bouvines: In France, Philip II of France defeats John of England. Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. (Maurice Harold Macmillan 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC (10 February 1894 &ndash 29 December 1986 was a British Conservative Politician Iain Norman Macleod ( 11 November 1913 &ndash 20 July 1970) was a British Conservative Party Politician and John Hugh Hare 1st Viscount Blakenham, OBE, PC, ( January 22 1911 &ndash March 7 1982) was a British peer and The Leader of the Opposition (sometimes known as the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons) in the United Kingdom is the politician who leads Events 1540 - Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of Treason. Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. Events 1179 - The Norwegian Battle of Kalvskinnet outside Nidaros. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. James Harold Wilson Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 &ndash 24 May 1995 was one of the most prominent British politicians Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC (2 July 1903 - 9 October 1995 14th Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 was a British James Harold Wilson Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 &ndash 24 May 1995 was one of the most prominent British politicians Events 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. Events 660 BC - Traditional founding date of Japan by Emperor Jimmu. Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. James Harold Wilson Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 &ndash 24 May 1995 was one of the most prominent British politicians James Harold Wilson Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 &ndash 24 May 1995 was one of the most prominent British politicians Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925 Events 455 - Roman military commander Avitus is proclaimed Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year KENT (1400 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Events 180 - Twelve inhabitants of Scillium in North Africa are executed for being Christians Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Salisbury (ˈsɒlzbri ˈsɔːlzbri ('Solzbry' or ˈzɔːwzbri ('Zawzbry' — moving from RP to local dialect) is a cathedral city in the Etymology The county formerly 'Wiltonshire' or 'Wiltunscir' (9th century is named after the former county town of Wilton (itself named after the River Wylye The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Alma mater is Latin for "nourishing mother" It was used in Ancient Rome as a title for the mother Goddess, and in Medieval Balliol College (ˈbeɪlɪəl founded in 1263 is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. A journalist (also called a newspaperman) is a person who practices Journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events trends See also Bureaucrat The term civil service has two distinct meanings Branch of governmental service in which individuals are hired on the basis The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an Order of chivalry, or Knighthood, originating in Medieval England, and presently bestowed on recipients The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. Events 455 - Roman military commander Avitus is proclaimed Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Events 180 - Twelve inhabitants of Scillium in North Africa are executed for being Christians Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Heath's accession represented a change in the leadership of the Conservative party, from aristocratic figures such as Harold Macmillan and Lord Home to the self-consciously meritocratic Heath, and later, Margaret Thatcher. (Maurice Harold Macmillan 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC (10 February 1894 &ndash 29 December 1986 was a British Conservative Politician Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC (2 July 1903 - 9 October 1995 14th Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 was a British Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925

Contents

Early life

Ted (or "Teddy" as he was known as a young man) Heath was born the son of a carpenter and a maid from Broadstairs in Kent, England. KENT (1400 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland His father was later a successful small businessman. He was educated at Chatham House Grammar School in Ramsgate, and also at The King's School, Canterbury for the Sixth form, where he was head boy, and in 1935 with the aid of a county scholarship he went up to study at Balliol College, Oxford. Chatham House Grammar School, often abbreviated to " Chatham House " is a grammar school in Ramsgate, Kent, England Ramsgate is a seaside town on the Isle of Thanet in east Kent, England. The King's School is an English Independent school situated in Canterbury, Kent. Balliol College (ˈbeɪlɪəl founded in 1263 is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the A talented musician, he won the college's Organ scholarship in his first term (he had previously tried for the organ scholarships at St Catharine's College, Cambridge and Keble College, Oxford), which enabled him to stay at the University for a fourth year; he eventually graduated with a Second Class Honours BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics in 1939. An organ scholar is a young musician employed as a part-time assistant Organist at an institution where regular choral services are held St Catharine’s College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. Keble College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme for Undergraduate degrees ( Bachelor's degrees and some Master's degrees Philosophy Politics and Economics or Politics Philosophy and Economics (often abbreviated to PPE) is a popular Interdisciplinary degree which In later life Heath's peculiar accent, with its "strangulated" vowel sounds, was a source of much comment; Heath's biographer John Campbell speculates that, unlike his father and younger brother, who both spoke with Kent accents, his speech must have undergone "drastic alteration on encountering Oxford".

While at university Heath became active in Conservative politics. However, on the key political issue of the day, foreign policy, he opposed the Conservative-dominated government of the day ever more openly. His first Paper Speech (i. e. a major speech listed on the order paper along with the visiting guest speakers) at the Oxford Union, in Michaelmas 1936, was in opposition to the appeasement of Germany by returning her colonies, confiscated after the First World War. Status and membership The Oxford Union is an Unincorporated association, holding its property in trust in favour of its objectives and members and governed In June 1937 he was elected President of the Oxford University Conservative Association as a pro-Spanish Republic candidate, in opposition to the pro-Franco John Stokes (later a Conservative MP). The Oxford University Conservative Association ( OUCA) is a student political organisation founded in 1924 whose members are drawn from the University of Oxford. The Second Spanish Republic was the system of government in Spain between April 14 1931, when King Alfonso XIII left the country Sir John Heydon Romaine Stokes KBE ( 23 July 1917 &ndash 27 June 2003) was a British politician a Conservative Party In 1937-8 he was also chairman of the national Federation of University Conservative Associations, and in the same year (his third at University) he was Secretary then Librarian of the Oxford Union. Status and membership The Oxford Union is an Unincorporated association, holding its property in trust in favour of its objectives and members and governed At the end of the year, however, he was defeated for the Presidency of the Oxford Union by another Balliol candidate, Alan Wood, on the issue of whether the Chamberlain government should give way to a left-wing Popular Front. On this occasion Heath supported the government.

In his final year Heath was President of Balliol College Junior Common Room, an office held in subsequent years by his near-contemporaries Denis Healey and Roy Jenkins, and as such was invited to support the Master of Balliol Alexander Lindsay, who stood as an anti-appeasement 'Independent Progressive' candidate against the official Conservative candidate, Quintin Hogg, in the October 1938 Oxford by-election. In some universities in the United Kingdom — particularly collegiate universities such as Oxford, Cambridge and Durham — the academic body Denis Winston Healey Baron Healey, CH, MBE, PC (born 30 August 1917 is a British Life peer and Labour politician Roy Harris Jenkins Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM PC ( 11 November 1920 &ndash 5 January 2003) was a British Alexander Lindsay can refer to Alexander Lindsay of Barnweill (d Quintin McGarel Hogg Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone, KG, CH, PC, QC ( 9 October 1907 &ndash 12 October Heath, who had himself applied to be the Conservative candidate for the by-election [1], accused the government in an October Union Debate of "turning all four cheeks" to Hitler, and was elected as President of the Oxford Union in November 1938, sponsored by Balliol, after winning the Presidential Debate that "This House has No Confidence in the National Government as presently constituted". He was thus President in Hilary Term 1939; the visiting Leo Amery described him in his diaries as "a pleasant youth". Leopold Charles Maurice Stennett Amery CH, PC ( 22 November 1873 – 16 September 1955) usually known as Leo

As an undergraduate, Heath travelled widely in Europe. His opposition to appeasement was nourished by his witnessing first-hand a Nazi Party Nuremberg rally in 1937, where he met top Nazis Hermann Göring, Joseph Goebbels and Heinrich Himmler at an SS cocktail party. The, officially National Socialist German Workers' Party, ( abbreviated NSDAP) was a Political party in Germany between 1919 and 1945 Hermann Wilhelm Göring (also spelled Goering) (12 January 1893 15 October 1946 was a German Politician, Military leader and a leading member Paul Joseph Goebbels (German pronunciation ˈɡœbəls English generally ˈɡɝbəlz (29 October 1897 1 May 1945 was a German politician and Reich Minister of Public Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945 was a Nazi German politician and head of the Schutzstaffel (SS. He later described Himmler as "the most evil man I have ever met". In 1938 he visited Barcelona, then under attack from Spanish Nationalist forces. In the summer of 1939 he again travelled across Germany, returning to England just in time before the declaration of war. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe.

World War II

Heath spent the winter of 1939-40 on a debating tour of the United States before being called up, and early in 1941 was commissioned in the Royal Artillery. Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, is generally known as the Royal Artillery and is nicknamed the Gunners. During the Second World War he initially served with heavy anti-aircraft guns around Liverpool (which suffered heavy German bombing in May 1941), and by early 1942 was regimental adjutant, with the rank of captain. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Later, by now a major commanding a battery of his own, he provided artillery support in the European campaign of 1944-5. He later remarked that, although he did not personally kill anybody, as the British forces advanced he saw devastation which must have been caused by his unit's bombardments. In September 1945 he commanded a firing squad to execute a Polish soldier convicted of rape and murder, a fact which he did not reveal until his memoirs were published in 1998. Execution by firing squad is a method of Capital punishment, particularly common in times of war After demobilisation as a lieutenant-colonel in August 1946 Heath joined the Honourable Artillery Company, in which he remained active throughout the 1950s, rising to Commanding officer of the Second Regiment; a portrait of him in full dress uniform still hangs in the Long Room. The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC is the oldest surviving Regiment in the British Army, and the second most senior in the The commanding officer ( CO) is the officer in command of a Military unit. In April 1971, as Prime Minister, he wore his lieutenant-colonel's insignia to inspect troops.

Before the war Heath had won a scholarship to Gray's Inn and had begun making preparations for a career at the Bar, but after the war he instead passed top into the Civil Service. The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court around the Royal Courts He then became a civil servant in the Ministry of Civil Aviation (he was disappointed not to be posted to the Treasury, but declined an offer to join the Foreign Office, fearing that foreign postings might prevent him from entering politics [2]). See also Bureaucrat The term civil service has two distinct meanings Branch of governmental service in which individuals are hired on the basis He resigned in November 1947 after his adoption as the prospective parliamentary candidate for Bexley.

Member of Parliament

After working as Editor of the Church Times from 1948 to 1949, Heath worked as a management trainee at the merchant bankers Brown, Shipley & Co. until his election as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bexley in the February 1950 general election. The Church Times is an independent Anglican weekly newspaper It is published in the United Kingdom on Fridays Brown Shipley & Co is a long-established British Private bank, based in London. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. Old Bexley and Sidcup is a UK parliamentary constituency situated wholly within the London Borough of Bexley. Results |} Total votes cast 28771124 All parties shown Conservative total includes Ulster Unionists Votes summary Seats summary In the election he defeated an old contemporary from the Oxford Union, Ashley Bramall, with a majority of 133 votes. Sir (Ernest Ashley Bramall ( January 6, 1916 &ndash February 10, 1999) was a British Labour Party Politician Heath made his maiden speech in the House of Commons on 26 June 1950, in which he appealed to the Labour Government to participate in the Schuman Plan. A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly- elected members of a Legislature or Parliament. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sassanid Empire. Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Schuman Declaration is a governmental proposal by then- French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman to place the Coal and Steel industries of

In February 1951, Heath was appointed as an Opposition Whip by Winston Churchill. Whip is a role in party-based politics whose primary purpose is to ensure control of the formal decision-making process in a parliamentary legislature Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 He remained in the Whip's Office after the Conservatives won the 1951 general election, rising rapidly to Joint Deputy Chief Whip, Deputy Chief Whip and, in December 1955, Government Chief Whip under Anthony Eden. Results |} Total votes cast 28596594 All parties shown Conservative result includes the Ulster Unionists Votes summary Headline Robert Anthony Eden 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC (12 June 1897 &ndash 14 January 1977 was a British Conservative Politician Because of the convention that Whips do not speak in Parliament, Heath managed to keep out of the controversy over the Suez Crisis. The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, (أزمة السويس - العدوان الثلاثي Crise du canal de Suez מבצע קדש Kadesh On the announcement of Anthony Eden's resignation, Heath submitted a report on the opinions of the Conservative MPs regarding Eden's possible successors. Robert Anthony Eden 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC (12 June 1897 &ndash 14 January 1977 was a British Conservative Politician This report favoured Harold Macmillan and was instrumental in eventually securing Macmillan the premiership in January 1957. Macmillan later appointed Heath Minister of Labour after the successful October 1959 election.

Heath was appointed Lord Privy Seal in 1960 by Harold Macmillan with responsibility for the negotiations to secure the UK's first attempt to join the Common Market (as the European Community was then called). The Lord Privy Seal or Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom ranking beneath the The European Community (EC is one of the Three pillars of the European Union (EU created under the Maastricht Treaty (1992 The European Community (EC is one of the Three pillars of the European Union (EU created under the Maastricht Treaty (1992 After extensive negotiations, involving detailed agreements about the UK's agricultural trade with Commonwealth countries such as New Zealand; British entry was vetoed by the French President, General de Gaulle, at a press conference in January 1963. Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ( 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French General and statesman who led the Free French After this setback, a major humiliation for Macmillan's foreign policy, Heath was not a contender for the party leadership on Macmillan's retirement in October 1963. Under Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home he was President of the Board of Trade and Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development, and oversaw the abolition of retail price controls. Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC (2 July 1903 - 9 October 1995 14th Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 was a British The Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (formerly the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry before the June 28, 2007

Leadership bid

After the Conservative Party lost the general election of 1964, the defeated Douglas-Home changed the party leadership rules to allow for an MP ballot vote, and then resigned. Campaign The pre-election campaign was prolonged as Douglas-Home delayed calling a general election in order to try to give himself the maximum time to improve the The following year Heath - who was Shadow Chancellor at the time, and had recently won favourable publicity for leading the fight against Labour's Finance Bill - unexpectedly won the party's leadership contest, gaining 150 votes to Reginald Maudling's 133 and Enoch Powell's 15. Reginald Maudling (7 March 1917 - 14 February 1979 was a British Politician known for his intellectual brilliance political pragmatism and easygoing nature [3] Heath became the Tories' youngest leader and retained office after the party's defeat in the general election of 1966. National opinion poll summary Research Services: 3% swing to Labour (forecast majority of 101National Opinion Polls: 3

Leader of the Opposition

Heath sacked Enoch Powell from the Shadow Cabinet in April 1968, shortly after Powell made his Rivers of Blood speech which criticised the recent mass immigration of Commonwealth immigrants to the United Kingdom and predicted "rivers of blood" if such immigration continued. Brigadier John Enoch Powell, MBE ( June 16 1912 &ndash February 8 1998) was a British Politician, The Shadow Cabinet (also called the Shadow Front Bench) is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the The Rivers of Blood speech was a speech about Immigration and anti- Discrimination legislation in the United Kingdom made on 20 April, 1968 The English noun commonwealth dates from the fifteenth century. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located

Heath never spoke to him again. Powell hadn't notified Conservative Central Office of his intentions to deliver the speech, and this was put forward as one reason for his dismissal. In the field of Telecommunications, a telephone exchange or telephone switch is a system of electronic components that connects telephone calls

When Powell died on 8 February 1998, Heath was asked for his reaction, but he simply told the media: "I won't be making a statement. Events 421 - Constantius III becomes co- Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) "

Prime Minister

With another general election looming in 1970, a Conservative policy document emerged from the Selsdon Park Hotel, which according to some historians [4] embraced fairly radical monetarist and free-market oriented policies as solutions to the country's unemployment and inflation problems. Heath stated that the Selsdon weekend only reaffirmed policies which had actually been evolving since he became leader of the Conservative Party. Labour's Prime Minister Harold Wilson thought the document a vote loser and dubbed it Selsdon Man in the attempt to portray it as reactionary. James Harold Wilson Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 &ndash 24 May 1995 was one of the most prominent British politicians But Heath's Conservative Party won the general election of 1970 in a victory seen as a personal triumph that surprised almost all contemporary commentators. Opinion poll summary ORC (Opinion Research Council Conservative lead of 1%Harris (Express Newspapers Labour lead of 2%NOP

The new Cabinet contained some important future figures, including Margaret Thatcher (Education & Science), William Whitelaw (Leader of the House of Commons), and also an ex-Prime minister, Alec Douglas-Home, who filled the important brief of Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs. Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925 William Stephen Ian Whitelaw 1st Viscount Whitelaw, KT, CH, MC, PC, DL (28 June 1918 &ndash 1 July 1999 commonly known as Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC (2 July 1903 - 9 October 1995 14th Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 was a British

As with all British governments in the 1970s, Heath's time in office was difficult. The government suffered an early blow with the death of Chancellor of the Exchequer Iain Macleod on 20 July 1970; his replacement Anthony Barber was a much less strong political personality. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all Economic and Financial Iain Norman Macleod ( 11 November 1913 &ndash 20 July 1970) was a British Conservative Party Politician and Events 1304 - Wars of Scottish Independence: Fall of Stirling Castle - King Edward I of England takes the last rebel stronghold Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Heath's planned economic policy changes (including a significant shift from direct to indirect taxation) remained largely unimplemented; the Selsdon policy document was more or less abandoned as unemployment climbed by 1972 (the so-called "U-Turn"). From this point on, the economy was inflated in an attempt to bring unemployment down, resulting in the so-called "Barber Boom".

Heath did attempt to reform the increasingly militant trade unions, unions which had managed until then to avoid reforms under preceding Labour and Tory governments. A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming His Industrial Relations Act set up a special court under the judge Lord Donaldson, whose imprisonment of striking dockworkers was a public relations disaster which the Thatcher Government of the 1980s was to take pains to avoid, relying instead on confiscating the assets of unions found to have broken the law. Heath's attempt to confront trade-union power only resulted in an unwinnable pitched political battle, hobbled as the government was by the country's galloping inflation and high unemployment rate. Especially damaging to the government's credibility was a confrontation with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), from which the union emerged victorious. See also the National Union of Mineworkers (South Africa. Template talkInfobox Union Energy shortages infamously resulted in much of the country's industry working a three-day week in an attempt to conserve energy. The Three-Day Week was one of several measures introduced in the United Kingdom by the Conservative Government 1970-1974 to conserve Electricity, the production The resulting breakdown of domestic consensus contributed to the eventual downfall of his government.

Heath's government did little to curtail welfare spending, yet at one point the squeeze in the education budget resulted in Margaret Thatcher, then Secretary of State for Education and Science, acting on the late Iain Macleod's wishes, further extending the restrictions (begun by the preceding Labour Government), upon free school milk removing it from 8 to 11 year olds. Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925 The Secretary of State for Education and Skills was the chief minister of the Department for Education and Skills in the United Kingdom government For this the tabloid press christened her "Thatcher the Milk Snatcher". [5] She did however succeed in blocking Macleod's other posthumous Education policy of abolishing the Open University recently founded by the preceding Labour Government. Open University is also the name of other institutions See Distance education or the Open Universities category for a list [6]

Heath's Government passed the 1972 Local Government Act, which changed the boundaries of England's counties and created "Metropolitan Counties" around the major cities (e. The Local Government Act 1972 (1972 c 70 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom, that reformed local government in England and Wales g. Merseyside around Liverpool); this caused a significant amount of anger from sections of the public and is still not fully embraced to this day. In some cases local pressure has since caused the boundary changes to be reversed, e. g. Weston-Super-Mare has ceased to be part of the newly-formed Avon (i. e. Greater Bristol) and is now once again part of Somerset. However, Heath did not divide England into regions, choosing instead to await the report of the Crowther Commission on the constitution; the ten Government Office Regions were eventually set up by the Major government in 1994. The region, also known as the government office region, is currently the highest tier of local government sub-national entity of England, with only one

Along with the changing of the "historic" (in fact they had been revised as recently as 1889) county boundaries, another reform implemented by the Heath Government added to an uneasy feeling of change: the decimalisation of British coinage, begun under the previous Labour Government, was completed eight months after he came to power. Decimal Day ( 15 February Old pence (known as "d" for denarii) were abolished, with one "silver" shilling being equal to five "New Pence" (Shilling and Two Shilling coins would remain in circulation as 5p and 10p until the early 1990s). A special edition of the relatively new 50p coin (introduced in 1969) showed a circle of linked hands to commemorate British entry into the Common Market. The acceleration of inflation made this change seem even more unsettling.

Foreign policy

Edward Heath took the United Kingdom into the European Community in 1973. The European Community (EC is one of the Three pillars of the European Union (EU created under the Maastricht Treaty (1992 In October 1973 he placed a British arms embargo on all combatants in the Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur war; that mainly affected the Israelis in obtaining spares for the Centurion tank. The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War (מלחמת יום הכיפורים transliterated: Milkhemet Yom HaKipurim or מלחמת יום The Centurion was the primary British Main Battle Tank of the immediate post-war era and has proven itself be a successful tank design mainly due to its thick He also officially recognised the People's Republic of China in 1972, visited Mao Zedong in Beijing in 1974 and 1975 and remained an honoured guest in China on frequent visits thereafter. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES Mao Zedong ( 26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976) was a Chinese Military and political leader who led Heath also maintained a good relationship with U. S. President Richard Nixon.

Heath depicted in a political cartoon as a British colonial in conflict with the Irish in Northern Ireland.
Heath depicted in a political cartoon as a British colonial in conflict with the Irish in Northern Ireland. An editorial cartoon, also known as a political cartoon, is an illustration or Comic strip containing a political or Social message that usually

Ireland

Heath governed during the bloodiest period in the history of the Northern Ireland Troubles. Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of He was prime minister at the time of Bloody Sunday in 1972 when 14 unarmed men were killed by British soldiers during an illegal march in Derry. Bloody Sunday (Domhnach na Fola is the term used to describe an incident in Derry, Northern Ireland, on 30 January 1972 in which 26 (In 2003, he gave evidence to the Saville Inquiry and stated that he never sanctioned unlawful lethal force in Northern Ireland. ) In July 1972, he permitted his Secretary of State for Northern Ireland William Whitelaw to hold unofficial talks in London with a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) delegation by Seán Mac Stiofáin. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is the chief minister in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland William Stephen Ian Whitelaw 1st Viscount Whitelaw, KT, CH, MC, PC, DL (28 June 1918 &ndash 1 July 1999 commonly known as The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Óglaigh na hÉireann ( IRA; also referred to as the PIRA, the Provos, or by some of its supporters as the Seán Mac Stíofáin ( 17 February 1928 &ndash 18 May 2001) was an Irish republican and first chief of staff of the In the aftermath of these unsuccessful talks, the Heath government pushed for a peaceful settlement with the democratic political parties.

The 1973 Sunningdale Agreement was strongly repudiated by many Unionists and the Ulster Unionist Party soon ceased to support the Conservative party at Westminster. The Sunningdale Agreement was an attempt to end " The Troubles " in Northern Ireland by forcing unionists to share power with nationalists The Ulster Unionist Party ( UUP, sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or OUP or in a historic sense simply the Unionist Party This breakdown in co-operation largely accounted for Heath's eventual electoral defeat in 1974.

Heath was targeted by the IRA for introducing 'Internment' in Ulster. In December 1974 the Balcombe Street ASU threw a bomb on to the first-floor balcony of his home in Wilton Street, Belgravia where it exploded. The Balcombe Street Siege was an incident involving members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA and London 's Metropolitan Police Service lasting An Active Service Unit (ASU was a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA cell of five to eight members tasked with carrying out armed attacks Belgravia is a district of central London in the City of Westminster, situated to the south-west of Buckingham Palace. Heath had been conducting a Christmas carol concert in his constituency at Broadstairs, Kent, and arrived home 10 minutes after the bomb exploded. KENT (1400 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format No one was injured in the attack, but a landscape portrait painted by Winston Churchill — given to Heath as a present — was damaged. [7]

Fall from power

1974 general elections

A seven-week miners' strike in 1974 helped bring down the Conservative Government and cost Edward Heath the party leadership. [8]

Heath tried to bolster his government by calling a general election for 28 February 1974. Events 202 BC - coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han takes place initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty 's rule Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. The result was inconclusive: the Conservative Party won a plurality in terms of votes cast but the Labour Party won a plurality in terms of seats, with Ulster Unionist MPs refusing to support the Conservatives. Heath then began coalition negotiations with leaders of the Liberal Party, but, when these failed, on 4 March 1974, he resigned as Prime Minister and was replaced by Harold Wilson and a minority Labour government. The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s and a third party Events 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. James Harold Wilson Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 &ndash 24 May 1995 was one of the most prominent British politicians Wilson was eventually confirmed with a wafer-thin majority in a second election in October of the same year. In the second 1974 general election, Heath called for an all party "National Government". Results |} Total number of votes 29189104 All parties shown Votes summary Seats summary In the United Kingdom the term National Government is in an abstract sense used to refer to a coalition of some or all UK major political parties.

It was around this time that The Centre for Policy Studies, a Conservative discussion group with close spiritual ties to the 1970 Selsdon document, began to formulate a monetarist and free-market diagnosis of the failures of Heath's government. The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS is a British Policy studies think tank whose goal is to promote coherent and practical public policy to roll back the Initially the group was spearheaded by Sir Keith Joseph. Keith Sinjohn Joseph Baron Joseph, CH, PC ( 17 January 1918 &ndash 10 December 1994) was a British Barrister Although Margaret Thatcher was associated with the CPS, she was initially seen as a potential moderate go-between by Heath's lieutenant, James Prior. Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925 James Michael Leathes Prior Baron Prior, PC, known as Jim Prior, (born 11 October 1927) is a British Politician,

The rise of Thatcher

With the Conservative Party losing three out of four general elections by 1974 under his leadership, Heath came to be seen as a liability by many Conservative MPs, party activists, and sympathetic newspaper editors. Among the wider electorate he attracted more sympathy, partly because of public statements he had made hinting at his willingness to consider the idea of serving in a government of national unity.

Heath resolved to remain Conservative leader and at first it appeared that by calling on the loyalty of his front bench colleagues he might prevail. At the time the Conservative leadership rules allowed for an election to fill a vacancy but contained no provision for a sitting leader to either seek a fresh mandate or be challenged. In late 1974, Heath came under tremendous pressure to concede a review of the rules.

It was agreed to establish a commission to propose changes in the election rules, and to have Heath put himself up for election under the new guidelines. Initially he expected to be comfortably re-elected, for there was no clear challenger to him after Enoch Powell had left the party and Keith Joseph had ruled himself out following controversial statements implying that the working classes should be encouraged to use more birth control. Brigadier John Enoch Powell, MBE ( June 16 1912 &ndash February 8 1998) was a British Politician, Keith Sinjohn Joseph Baron Joseph, CH, PC ( 17 January 1918 &ndash 10 December 1994) was a British Barrister However Joseph's close friend and ally Margaret Thatcher, who believed an adherent to CPS philosophy should run, joined the leadership contest in his place, alongside the outsider Hugh Fraser. [9] Aided in this by the determined campaigning amongst back-bench MPs of Airey Neave - whose earlier approach to William Whitelaw had been rebuffed out of loyalty to Heath - she emerged as the only serious challenger. Airey Middleton Sheffield Neave, DSO, OBE, MC, (23 January 1916 &ndash 30 March 1979 was a British soldier barrister and politician William Stephen Ian Whitelaw 1st Viscount Whitelaw, KT, CH, MC, PC, DL (28 June 1918 &ndash 1 July 1999 commonly known as [10]

As the rules of the leadership contest permitted new candidates to enter the fray in a second round of voting should the leader not be confirmed by a large enough majority in the first, Thatcher's challenge was considered by some to be that of a stalking horse. A stalking horse is someone or something whose role is to become the focal point for or the initiator of a debate or challenge Heath himself blamed his defeat on the "cunning" of Neave in deliberately understating her support in order to attract wavering votes [11]. In the end, Heath lost on the first ballot, 119 to 130 votes, (Fraser 16) on 4 February 1975. Events 211 - Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of his two quarrelsome sons Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Heath then withdrew from the contest and his favoured candidate William Whitelaw lost to Thatcher in the second vote one week later, 146 to 79. William Stephen Ian Whitelaw 1st Viscount Whitelaw, KT, CH, MC, PC, DL (28 June 1918 &ndash 1 July 1999 commonly known as (Howe 19, Prior 19, Peyton 11)

The new leader Margaret Thatcher visited him at his flat; accounts differ as to whether she offered him a place in her Shadow Cabinet - by some accounts she was detained for coffee by a colleague so that the waiting press would not realise how brief the meeting had been. Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925 Heath himself claimed that he had already informed her that he did not want a Shadow Cabinet place, and the purpose of her visit was simply to seek his advice as to how to handle the press. Nonetheless, after the 1979 general election, he nursed hopes of being appointed Foreign Secretary. Background Callaghan had succeeded Harold Wilson as Labour Prime Minister after the latter's surprise resignation in April 1976 Instead he was offered, and declined, the post of British Ambassador to the United States. The British Ambassador to the United States is in charge of the United Kingdom 's Diplomatic mission to the United States.

After the Leadership

Heath remained bitter over his defeat and was persistent in his criticisms of the party's new ideological direction for many years. He never forgave Margaret Thatcher for challenging and replacing him as leader of the Conservatives and would refer to her as 'That woman'. At the time of his defeat he was still popular with rank and file Conservative members, and was warmly applauded at the 1975 Party Conference, facts which were used after 1997 as an argument against giving Party members too large a say in the election of the Party Leader (usually as a retort to the argument that ordinary members supported Mrs Thatcher when she was in turn ousted in 1990). He continued to be seen as a figurehead by some on the left of the party up to the time of the 1981 Conservative Party conference, at which he openly criticised the government's economic policies.

Heath played a leading role in the 1975 referendum campaign, in which Britain voted to remain part of the EEC. He also remained active on the international stage, serving on the Brandt Commission investigation into developmental issues, particularly on the North-South projects. In 1990 he flew to Baghdad to attempt to negotiate the release of British aircraft passengers taken hostage when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti ( Arabic: ar صدام حسين عبد المجيد التكريتي --> April 28 1937 &ndash December 30 The State of Kuwait ( دولة الكويت IPA [dawlatt̪ alkuwajt̪]) is a sovereign Arab Emirate on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed After Black Wednesday in 1992 he called in the House of Commons for governments to build up a fund of reserves to defeat what he called currency "speculators". In British Politics and Economics, Black Wednesday refers to the events of 16 September 1992 when the Conservative The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords

In the 1960s Heath had lived at a flat in the Albany, off Piccadilly; at the unexpected end of his premiership he was left homeless and had to take over the flat of a Conservative MP Tim Kitson for some months. The Albany or Albany (since the mid-20th century some sources have claimed that the article is not in use among the fashionable is an apartment complex in Piccadilly Sir Timothy Peter Geoffrey Kitson (born 28 Jan 1931) is a British Conservative politician who was Member of Parliament for Richmond In February 1985, Heath moved to Salisbury, where he resided until his death. Salisbury (ˈsɒlzbri ˈsɔːlzbri ('Solzbry' or ˈzɔːwzbri ('Zawzbry' — moving from RP to local dialect) is a cathedral city in the

In 1987 Heath was nominated in the election for the Chancellorship of the University of Oxford but came third, behind Roy Jenkins and Lord Blake. The 1987 University of Oxford election for the position of Chancellor was called upon the death of the incumbent Chancellor, Harold Macmillan 1st Earl of Stockton Roy Harris Jenkins Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM PC ( 11 November 1920 &ndash 5 January 2003) was a British Robert Norman William Blake Baron Blake ( December 23 1916 - September 20 2003) was an English Historian.

Heath continued to serve as a backbench MP for the London constituency of Old Bexley and Sidcup until retiring from Parliament at the 2001 general election, by which time he had been created a Knight of the Garter and was, from 1992, the longest-serving MP and "Father of the House", as well as the oldest sitting British MP. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Old Bexley and Sidcup is a UK parliamentary constituency situated wholly within the London Borough of Bexley. Results |} Total votes cast 26368204 All parties with more than 500 votes shown The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an Order of chivalry, or Knighthood, originating in Medieval England, and presently bestowed on recipients Father of the House is a term that has by tradition been unofficially bestowed on certain members of some national Legislatures most notably the House of Commons in As Father of the House, he oversaw the election of two Speakers of the Commons, Betty Boothroyd and Michael Martin. The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a legislative body Betty Boothroyd Baroness Boothroyd, OM, PC (born October 8, 1929 in Dewsbury, Yorkshire) is a British Michael John Martin MP (born 3 July 1945 is the current Speaker of the House of Commons in the United Kingdom.

Parliament broke with precedent by commissioning a bust of Heath while he was still alive. A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure depicting a person's head and Neck, as well as a variable portion of [12] The 1993 bronze work, by Martin Jennings, was moved to the Members' Lobby in 2002. The Members' Lobby is a Hallway in the Palace of Westminster used by members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Death

Edward Heath's monument in Salisbury Cathedral.
Edward Heath's monument in Salisbury Cathedral. Salisbury Cathedral is an Anglican Cathedral in Salisbury, England, considered one of the leading examples of Early English architecture

In August 2003, at the age of 87, Heath suffered a pulmonary embolism while on holiday in Salzburg, Austria. Pulmonary embolism (PE is a blockage of the Pulmonary artery or one of its branches usually occurring when a venous Thrombus (blood clot from a vein is the fourth-largest city in Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich He never fully recovered, and due to his declining health and mobility made very few public appearances in the final two years of his life. Sir Edward Heath died from pneumonia at 19:30 on the evening of 17 July 2005, at the age of 89. Pneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the Lung. Frequently it is described as lung Parenchyma / alveolar inflammation and abnormal Events 180 - Twelve inhabitants of Scillium in North Africa are executed for being Christians Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He was cremated on 25 July 2005 at a funeral service with fifteen hundred people present. Events 285 - Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar, co-ruler Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. As a tribute, the day after his death the BBC Parliament channel showed the BBC coverage of the 1970 election. A memorial service was held for Heath in Westminster Abbey on 8 November 2005 which was attended by two thousand people. The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a large mainly Gothic church Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Three days later his ashes were interred in Salisbury Cathedral. Salisbury Cathedral is an Anglican Cathedral in Salisbury, England, considered one of the leading examples of Early English architecture

In January 2006, it was announced that Heath had left £5 million in his will, most of it to a charitable foundation to conserve his eighteenth-century house, Arundells, next to Salisbury Cathedral. As he had no descendants, he left only two legacies: to his brother's widow (£20,000); and to his housekeeper (£2500). [13]

Arundells

The house where Sir Edward Heath used to live in Salisbury, opposite the Cathedral, is opened to the public for guided tours from March to September. The house preserves a large collection of personal artefacts as well as his personal library, photo collections and Winston Churchill paintings. Details of openings are on the Arundells website, arundells. org.

Personal life

Yachting

Heath was a keen yachtsman. He bought his first yacht Morning Cloud in 1969 and won the Sydney to Hobart race that year. A yacht is a recreational boat It designates two rather different classes of Watercraft, sailing and power yachts For the current edition of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race see 2007 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. He captained Britain's winning team for the Admiral's Cup in 1971 — while Prime Minister — and also captained the team in the 1979 Fastnet race. The Admiral's Cup is an international yachting regatta For many years the Admiral's Cup was known as the unofficial World Championship of Offshore Racing The 1979 Fastnet race was the twenty-eighth Fastnet race, a Yachting race competition held since 1925 generally every two years He was a member of the Sailing Club in his home town Broadstairs.

Prime Minister conducting the LSO in Elgar's Cockaigne
Prime Minister conducting the LSO in Elgar's Cockaigne

Conductor

Heath also maintained a keen interest in orchestral music as an organist and conductor, famously installing a Steinway grand in 10 Downing Street — bought with his £450 Charlemagne Prize money, awarded for his efforts to bring Britain into the EEC in 1973, and chosen on the advice of his friend, the pianist Moura Lympany — and conducting Christmas carol concerts in Broadstairs, Kent every year from his teens until old age. Cockaigne (In London Town Op 40, also known as Cockaigne Overture, is a Concert overture for full Orchestra composed by the British The Karlspreis ( Charlemagne Prize; Prix Charlemagne; full name originally Internationaler Karlspreis der Stadt Aachen Dame Moura Lympany DBE ( August 18 1916 &ndash March 28 2005) was an English concert pianist KENT (1400 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format

Heath conducted the London Symphony Orchestra, notably at a gala concert at the Festival Hall in November 1971, at which he conducted Elgar's Cockaigne (In London Town), as pictured at right. The London Symphony Orchestra ( LSO) is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom. Royal Festival Hall is a concert dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. Cockaigne (In London Town Op 40, also known as Cockaigne Overture, is a Concert overture for full Orchestra composed by the British He also conducted the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as orchestras in Germany and the U.S. Heath received honorary degrees from the Royal College of Music and Royal College of Organists. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra based in Liverpool, England, is one of the world's oldest established Orchestras It is owned and administered Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Royal College of Music is a well known conservatoire located in the South Kensington district of London, England, and one The Royal College of Organists or RCO, is an educational body of the United Kingdom. During his premiership, Heath invited musician friends, such as Isaac Stern, Yehudi Menuhin, Clifford Curzon and the Amadeus Quartet, to perform either at Chequers or Downing Street. Sir Clifford Michael Curzon ( 18 May 1907 &ndash 1 September 1982) was an English Pianist.

Performing arts

Heath enjoyed the performing arts as a whole. In particular, he gave a great deal of support to performing arts causes in his constituency and was known to be proud of the fact that his constituency boasted two of the country's leading performing arts schools. Rose Bruford College and Bird College are both situated in Sidcup, and a purpose built facility for the latter was officially opened by Heath in 1979. Rose Bruford College (formerly the Rose Bruford Training College of Speech and Drama) is a British Drama school, offering professional vocational training Bird College of Dance Music & Theatre Performance is an independent Performing arts college based in the Greater London suburb of Sidcup Kent

Author

He wrote three non-political books, Sailing, Music, and Travels, and an autobiography, The Course of My Life (1998). The latter took 14 years to produce; Heath's obituary in the Daily Telegraph alleged that he never paid many of the ghost-writers.

Sexuality

Heath was a lifelong bachelor and is not known ever to have had any sexual relationship, although Michael Palin claimed, perhaps not altogether seriously, that Heath was involved for a small time with fellow comedian, Graham Chapman. Michael Edward Palin, CBE (born 5 May 1943 is an English Comedian, actor writer and Television presenter best known for being one of the members Graham Arthur Chapman (8 January 1941 &ndash 4 October 1989 was an English Comedian, Actor, Writer, Physician and one of the Heath's interest in music kept him on friendly terms with a number of female musicians including the pianist Moura Lympany, and he always had the company of women when social circumstances required. Dame Moura Lympany DBE ( August 18 1916 &ndash March 28 2005) was an English concert pianist

John Campbell, who published a biography of Heath in 1993, devoted four pages to a discussion of the evidence concerning Heath's sexuality. Whilst acknowledging that Heath was often assumed by the public to be gay, not least because it is "nowadays. . . whispered of any single man" he found "no evidence whatsoever" that this was actually so "except for the faintest unsubstantiated rumour" (the footnote refers to a mention of a "disturbing incident" at the beginning of the war in a 1972 biography by Andrew Roth). World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Andrew Roth (born 23 April 1919 in New York) is a biographer and journalist notable for compiling the definitive Parliamentary Profiles of British Members of [14] Campbell also points out that Heath was at least as likely to be a repressed heterosexual (given his awkwardness with women) or "simply asexual".

Heath had been expected to marry childhood friend Kay Raven, who reportedly tired of waiting and married an RAF officer whom she met on holiday in 1950. In a terse four-sentence paragraph of his memoirs, Heath claimed that he had been too busy establishing a career after the war and had "perhaps. . . taken too much for granted". In a 1998 TV interview with Michael Cockerell Heath admitted that he had kept her photograph in his flat for many years afterwards.

After Heath's death, gay rights campaigner and Conservative London Assembly member Brian Coleman suggested in 2007 that the former Prime Minister was a homosexual. Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender social movements share related goals of social acceptance of Homosexuality, Bisexuality and Transgenderism Lesbian The London Assembly is an elected body part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power with a two-thirds Brian Coleman FRSA (born 25 June 1961) is a Conservative Party politician and member of the London Assembly for Barnet and Homosexuality refers to sexual behavior with or attraction to people of the same sex or to a Homosexual orientation. Coleman, writing on the website of the New Statesman on the issue of 'outing', said: "The late Ted Heath managed to obtain the highest office of state after he was supposedly advised to cease his cottaging activities in the 1950s when he became a privy councillor. The New Statesman is a British Left-wing political Magazine published weekly in London. In the late twentieth century outing became a common term for taking someone "out of The closet "—that is publicising that someone is Gay. Cottaging is a British Gay slang term referring to anonymous male-male sex in a public Lavatory (a cottage or tea-room) or to the A privy council is a body that advises the Head of state of a nation on how to exercise their executive authority, typically but not always in the context of a " [15][16] The claim was dismissed by MP Sir Peter Tapsell, [17] and Heath's friend and MP Derek Conway stated that "if there was some secret I’m sure it would be out by now". Sir Peter Hannay Bailey Tapsell (born 1 February 1930) is a politician in the United Kingdom. Derek Leslie Conway TD (born 15 February 1953 is a British Politician, and Member of Parliament for Old Bexley and Sidcup. [18]

Titles from birth

Nicknames

Heath was persistently referred to as "The Grocer", or "Grocer Heath" by magazine Private Eye after he negotiated for Britain at a Common Market food prices conference in November 1962. Events 455 - Roman military commander Avitus is proclaimed Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Events 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western Book printed from Movable Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western Book printed from Movable Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1479 BC - Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) Events 1479 BC - Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) Events 1099 - The First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem begins Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Events 1099 - The First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem begins Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Events 180 - Twelve inhabitants of Scillium in North Africa are executed for being Christians Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical Magazine, edited by Ian Hislop. The nickname was used periodically, but became a permanent fixture in the magazine after he fought the 1970 General Election on a promise to reduce the price of groceries. Opinion poll summary ORC (Opinion Research Council Conservative lead of 1%Harris (Express Newspapers Labour lead of 2%NOP

Edward Heath's Government (June 1970 – March 1974)

Changes

Political offices

Political offices
Preceded by
William Wilkins		Junior Lord of the Treasury
1951 – 1955		Succeeded by
Edward Birkbeck Wakefield
Preceded by
Patrick Buchan-Hepburn		Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
(Government Chief Whip)
1955 – 1959		Succeeded by
Martin Redmayne
Preceded by
The Viscount Hailsham		Lord Privy Seal
1960 – 1963		Succeeded by
Selwyn Lloyd
Preceded by
Fred Erroll		President of the Board of Trade
1963 – 1964		Succeeded by
Douglas Jay
Preceded by
Alec Douglas-Home		Leader of the Opposition
1965 – 1970		Succeeded by
Harold Wilson
Preceded by
Harold Wilson		Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
19 June 1970 – 4 March 1974
Leader of the Opposition
1974 – 1975		Succeeded by
Margaret Thatcher
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Ashley Bramall		Member of Parliament for Bexley
1950 – 1974		Constituency abolished
New constituencyMember of Parliament for Sidcup
1974 – 1983
Member of Parliament for Old Bexley and Sidcup
1983 – 2001		Succeeded by
Derek Conway
Party political offices
Preceded by
Alec Douglas-Home		Leader of the British Conservative Party
1965 – 1975		Succeeded by
Margaret Thatcher
Honorary titles
Preceded by
Bernard Braine		Father of the House
1992 – 2001		Succeeded by
Tam Dalyell
Preceded by
Michael Foot		Oldest sitting Member of Parliament
1992 – 2001		Succeeded by
Piara Khabra
Preceded by
James Callaghan		Oldest UK Prime Minister still living
26 March 2005 – 17 July 2005		Succeeded by
Margaret Thatcher

Honorary degrees

References

Books:

Biographies:

Footnotes

  1. ^ Heath, Edward. The Course of My Life. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1998, p58
  2. ^ Heath, Edward. The Course of My Life. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1998, p111
  3. ^ BBC ON THIS DAY | 27 | 1965: Heath is new Tory leader
  4. ^ Young, Hugo. One Of Us London: MacMillan, 1989
  5. ^ Young, Hugo. One Of Us London: MacMillan, 1989
  6. ^ Young, Hugo. One Of Us London: MacMillan, 1989
  7. ^ Channel 4 - History - The Year London Blew Up
  8. ^ "The World; British Miners Settle for Less", New York Times, January 24, 1982.  
  9. ^ Young, Hugo. One Of Us London: MacMillan, 1989
  10. ^ Young, Hugo. One Of Us London: MacMillan, 1989
  11. ^ Heath, Edward. The Course of My Life. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1998, p532
  12. ^ UK Parliament: Unveiling of a Statue of Baroness Thatcher in Members Lobby, House of Commons. Commentators have noted how the statue of Margaret Thatcher appears to overshadow Heath's bust. Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925
  13. ^ BBC NEWS | Politics | Former PM Heath left £5m in will
  14. ^ http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article2483866.ece Heath was told to stop gay sex activity, Tory claims
  15. ^ http://www.newstatesman.com/200704230063 The closet is a lonely place
  16. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/25/nheath25.xml Heath warned about gay sex trysts
  17. ^ http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/tm_headline=hamps-ted-heath&method=full&objectid=18958668&siteid=89520-name_page.html HAMPS-TED HEATH
  18. ^ PM Ted 'cruised for gay sex' | The Sun |HomePage|News

External links


Persondata
NAMEHeath, Edward Richard George, Sir
ALTERNATIVE NAMESHeath, Ted
SHORT DESCRIPTIONFormer Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
DATE OF BIRTH9 July 1916
PLACE OF BIRTHBroadstairs, Kent, England
DATE OF DEATH17 July 2005
PLACE OF DEATHSalzburg, Austria
This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Events 455 - Roman military commander Avitus is proclaimed Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year KENT (1400 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Events 180 - Twelve inhabitants of Scillium in North Africa are executed for being Christians Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. is the fourth-largest city in Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich
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