Clement Attlee facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Major, The Right Honourable The Earl Attlee KG OM CH PC FRS
Clement Attlee, around 1945
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 26 July 1945 – 26 October 1951
Monarch	George VI
Deputy	Herbert Morrison
Preceded by	Winston Churchill
Succeeded by	Winston Churchill
Leader of the Opposition
In office 26 October 1951 – 25 November 1955
Monarch	George VI Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Winston Churchill Sir Anthony Eden
Preceded by	Winston Churchill
Succeeded by	Herbert Morrison
In office 23 May 1945 – 26 July 1945
Monarch	George VI
Prime Minister	Winston Churchill
Preceded by	Arthur Greenwood
Succeeded by	Winston Churchill
In office 25 October 1935 – 11 May 1940
Monarch	George V Edward VIII George VI
Prime Minister	Stanley Baldwin Neville Chamberlain
Preceded by	George Lansbury
Succeeded by	Hastings Lees-Smith
Leader of the Labour Party
In office 25 October 1935 – 7 December 1955
Deputy	Arthur Greenwood Herbert Morrison
Preceded by	George Lansbury
Succeeded by	Hugh Gaitskell
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
In office 25 October 1932 – 25 October 1935
Leader	George Lansbury
Preceded by	J. R. Clynes
Succeeded by	Arthur Greenwood
Wartime ministerial offices Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom In office 19 February 1942 – 23 May 1945 Prime Minister Winston Churchill Preceded by Office created Succeeded by Herbert Morrison Lord President of the Council In office 24 September 1943 – 23 May 1945 Prime Minister Winston Churchill Preceded by Sir John Anderson Succeeded by The Lord Woolton Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs In office 15 February 1942 – 24 September 1943 Prime Minister Winston Churchill Preceded by The Viscount Cranborne Succeeded by The Viscount Cranborne Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal In office 11 May 1940 – 15 February 1942 Prime Minister Winston Churchill Preceded by Sir Kingsley Wood Succeeded by Sir Stafford Cripps
Interwar ministerial offices Postmaster General In office 13 March 1931 – 25 August 1931 Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald Preceded by Hastings Lees-Smith Succeeded by William Ormsby-Gore Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster In office 23 May 1930 – 13 March 1931 Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald Preceded by Sir Oswald Mosley Succeeded by The Lord Ponsonby Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for War In office 23 January 1924 – 4 November 1924 Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald Preceded by Wilfrid Ashley Succeeded by Richard Onslow
Parliamentary offices Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal Hereditary peerage 16 December 1955 – 8 October 1967 Preceded by Earldom created Succeeded by The 2nd Earl Attlee Member of Parliament for Walthamstow West In office 23 February 1950 – 16 December 1955 Preceded by Valentine McEntee Succeeded by Edward Redhead Member of Parliament for Limehouse In office 15 November 1922 – 3 February 1950 Preceded by Sir William Pearce Succeeded by Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	Clement Richard Attlee (1883-01-03)3 January 1883 Putney, Surrey, England
Died	8 October 1967(1967-10-08) (aged 84) Westminster, London, England
Resting place	Westminster Abbey
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Violet Millar ​ ​ (m. 1922; died 1964)​
Children	4, including Martin, 2nd Earl Attlee
Alma mater	University College, Oxford
Occupation	Lawyer politician soldier
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	British Army
Years of service	1914–1919
Rank	Major
Battles/wars	First World War Gallipoli campaign Mesopotamian campaign Western Front
Awards	1914–15 Star British War Medal Victory Medal

Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee (born January 3, 1883 – died October 8, 1967) was an important British politician. He served as the Prime Minister from 1945 to 1951. He was the first Labour Party prime minister to lead a government with a clear majority of seats.

Attlee played a very important role in creating the welfare state in Britain. This means the government took on more responsibility for the health and well-being of its citizens. After he retired, he became a member of the House of Lords and was given the title of the first Earl Attlee.

Attlee passed away in 1967 from pneumonia. He is buried in Westminster Abbey, a famous church in London.

Early Life and Education

Clement Attlee was born in Putney, a part of London. He went to Haileybury College for his schooling. Later, he studied at University College, Oxford, and earned a degree in Modern History in 1904.

Political Career

After finishing university, Attlee worked as a barrister, which is a type of lawyer. He did this for two years. Then, he started working as a manager at Haileybury House in East London. This experience made him interested in socialist ideas, which focus on fairness and equality for everyone.

In 1907, Attlee joined the Fabian Society, a group that wanted to bring about social change peacefully. In 1908, he joined the Independent Labour Party. He started working for the UK Government in 1911. In 1919, Attlee became the Mayor of Stepney, a local leader in London.

He was elected to Parliament in 1922, representing the area of Limehouse. An MP is a person elected to make laws for the country. In 1935, he became the leader of the Labour Party. He served as the Deputy Prime Minister from 1942 to 1945 during World War II.

Attlee stepped down as party leader after the Labour Party lost the election in 1955. He received special honours for his service, becoming a member of the Order of Merit in 1951 and a Knight of the Garter in 1956.

Images for kids

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  Attlee (seen in the centre) in 1916, aged 33, whilst serving in Mesopotamia.

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  Attlee as Lord Privy Seal, visiting a munitions factory in 1941

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  Attlee meeting King George VI following Labour's 1945 election victory

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  Attlee at opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London, 1948

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  Petticoat Lane Market in London, 1947

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  Attlee with Harry S. Truman and Joseph Stalin at the Potsdam Conference, 1945

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  Attlee shaking hands with US Secretary of State James F. Byrnes upon his arrival at National Airport in Washington, 1945

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  Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin (left) with Attlee in 1945

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  VE Day celebrations in British-controlled Jerusalem (1945)

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  Portrait by George Harcourt, 1946

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  Statue of Attlee in its former position outside Limehouse Library

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  Blue plaque erected in 1984 by Greater London Council at 17 Monkhams Avenue

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  The Statue of Clement Attlee in its new position at Queen Mary University of London

See also

In Spanish: Clement Attlee para niños