Ministerial offices

Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
In office 20 June 1970 – 4 March 1974
Prime Minister	Edward Heath
Preceded by	Michael Stewart
Succeeded by	James Callaghan
In office 27 July 1960 – 18 October 1963
Prime Minister	Harold Macmillan
Preceded by	Selwyn Lloyd
Succeeded by	Rab Butler
Lord President of the Council
In office 14 October 1959 – 27 July 1960
Prime Minister	Harold Macmillan
Preceded by	The Viscount Hailsham
Succeeded by	The Viscount Hailsham
In office 29 March 1957 – 17 September 1957
Prime Minister	Harold Macmillan
Preceded by	The Marquess of Salisbury
Succeeded by	The Viscount Hailsham
Leader of the House of Lords
In office 29 March 1957 – 27 July 1960
Prime Minister	Harold Macmillan
Preceded by	The Marquess of Salisbury
Succeeded by	The Viscount Hailsham
Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations
In office 7 April 1955 – 27 July 1960
Preceded by	The Viscount Swinton
Succeeded by	Duncan Sandys

Junior ministerial offices

Minister of State for Scotland
In office 2 November 1951 – 7 April 1955
Prime Minister	Winston Churchill
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Thomas Galbraith
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
In office 26 May 1945 – 26 July 1945 Serving with The Lord Lovat
Prime Minister	Winston Churchill
Preceded by	George Hall
Succeeded by	Hector McNeil

Parliamentary offices

Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal
In office 24 December 1974 – 9 October 1995 Life Peerage
In office 11 July 1951 – 23 October 1963 Hereditary Peerage
Preceded by	The 13th Earl of Home
Succeeded by	The 15th Earl of Home (1995)
Member of Parliament for Kinross and Western Perthshire
In office 8 November 1963 – 20 September 1974
Preceded by	Gilmour Leburn
Succeeded by	Nicholas Fairbairn
Member of Parliament for Lanark
In office 23 February 1950 – 11 July 1951
Preceded by	Tom Steele
Succeeded by	Patrick Maitland
In office 27 October 1931 – 15 June 1945
Preceded by	Thomas Dickson
Succeeded by	Tom Steele

Personal details

Born

Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home

2 July 1903
Mayfair, London, England

Died

9 October 1995 (aged 92)
Coldstream, Scotland

Resting place

Lennel Churchyard, Coldstream

Political party

Conservative

Other political
affiliations

Unionist

Spouse

Elizabeth Alington

(m. 1936; died 1990)

Children

4, including David

Parent

Charles Douglas-Home (father)

Alma mater

Christ Church, Oxford

Cricket information

Batting

Right-handed

Bowling

Right-arm fast-medium

Domestic team information

Years

Team

1924–1927

MCC
Middlesex
Oxford University

Career statistics

Competition	First-class
Matches	10
Runs scored	147
Batting average	16.33
100s/50s	–
Top score	37
Balls bowled	–
Wickets	12
Bowling average	30.25
5 wickets in innings	–
10 wickets in match	–
Best bowling	3/43
Catches/stumpings	9/–

Source: Douglas-Home at ESPNcricinfo

Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, known as Alec Douglas-Home, was a British politician. He was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1963 to 1964. He was also a very important diplomat, serving as Foreign Secretary twice.

Alec Douglas-Home was born on July 2, 1903, in London. He came from a noble family. He passed away on October 9, 1995.

Early Life and Political Beginnings
- Growing Up and Education
- Starting in Politics
Becoming Prime Minister
Key Roles and Achievements
Images for kids
See also

Early Life and Political Beginnings

Growing Up and Education

Alec Douglas-Home's full birth name was Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home. He was the eldest son in his family. When his father became the Earl of Home, Alec received a junior title, Lord Dunglass. This meant he was next in line to inherit the main title.

He went to Eton College and then to Christ Church, Oxford University. During his time at university, he also played cricket. He was a good player and even played in some important matches.

Starting in Politics

Douglas-Home first became a Member of Parliament (MP) in 1931. An MP is someone elected to represent people in the House of Commons. He worked as a junior official, helping the Prime Minister.

In 1938, he was with Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in Munich. They met with Adolf Hitler to discuss peace. This was a very important time in history.

Becoming Prime Minister

A Change of Title

When Alec Douglas-Home's father died, Alec became the 14th Earl of Home. This meant he was now a member of the House of Lords, not the House of Commons. The House of Lords is the upper house of the UK Parliament.

In 1963, the Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, retired. Alec Douglas-Home was chosen to lead the Conservative Party. This meant he would become the new Prime Minister.

Leaving the House of Lords

It was unusual for a Prime Minister to be in the House of Lords. Most Prime Ministers are members of the House of Commons. To make it easier to lead the government, Alec Douglas-Home did something special.

He gave up his noble title, the Earl of Home. This is called "renouncing" a peerage. After doing this, he became known as Sir Alec Douglas-Home. He then ran for election to become an MP in the House of Commons.

Winning a Seat in Parliament

Four days after becoming Prime Minister, he renounced his title. He needed to win a seat in the House of Commons quickly. A safe Conservative area called Kinross and Western Perthshire had an open seat.

He ran in a special election there and won easily. For about 20 days, he was Prime Minister without being a member of either house of Parliament. This was very unusual!

Key Roles and Achievements

Leading the Country

Alec Douglas-Home served as Prime Minister for about a year, from 1963 to 1964. During his time, he worked to lead the country. He faced challenges and made important decisions.

After losing the 1964 election, he was given a new title. He became 'Baron Home of the Hirsel'. This was a "life peerage," meaning the title would not pass to his children.

Foreign Secretary

Many people remember Alec Douglas-Home for his work as Foreign Secretary. This is a very important job, dealing with other countries. He held this role twice.

He was Foreign Secretary from 1960 to 1963 under Harold Macmillan. He took on the role again from 1970 to 1974 under Prime Minister Edward Heath.

International Respect

As Foreign Secretary, he was known for being direct and firm. He was tough when dealing with the Soviet Union. He also worked with countries in Africa and Asia.

People around the world respected him for his honesty and clear way of speaking. His diplomatic skills were highly valued.

Images for kids

As a member of the Eton XI, 1921
The Hirsel, the Douglas-Home family's principal residence
Edward Heath, Home's deputy at the Foreign Office. They later served in each other's cabinets.
Lord Hailsham, Macmillan's original preference as successor
Douglas-Home with Jackie (centre, back to camera) and Ted Kennedy (right) at the post funeral reception for John F. Kennedy, 25 November 1963
Harold Wilson, Leader of the Opposition and Douglas-Home's successor
Enoch Powell returned to the Conservative front bench in 1964 and later sought the party leadership.
Douglas-Home with Australian Prime Minister John Gorton in 1970.
Andrei Gromyko, Douglas-Home's Soviet counterpart
Home, photographed by Allan Warren, in 1986
Statue of Douglas-Home at The Hirsel by sculptor Professor Bill Scott, unveiled in 1998.