- Donald Maclean (British politician)
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For other people named Donald Maclean, see Donald Maclean (disambiguation).
The Right Honourable
Sir Donald Maclean
KBE, PCLeader of the Opposition In office
December 1918 – 12 February 1920Monarch George V Prime Minister David Lloyd George Preceded by Herbert Henry Asquith Succeeded by Herbert Henry Asquith President of the Board of Education In office
25 August 1931 – 15 June 1932Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald Preceded by Hastings Lees-Smith Succeeded by The Lord Irwin Personal details Born 9 January 1864
Farnworth, Bolton, LancashireDied 15 June 1932 (aged 68)
LondonNationality British Political party Liberal Spouse(s) Gwendoline Katherina Leonora Hope Sir Donald Charles Hugh Maclean, KBE, PC (9 January 1864 – 15 June 1932), was a British Liberal politician. He was Leader of the Opposition between 1918 and 1920 and served in Ramsay MacDonald's National Government as President of the Board of Education between 1931 and his death in June of the following year.
Contents
Background
Born in Farnworth, Bolton, Lancashire, Maclean was the eldest son of John Maclean, a cordwainer originally of Kilmoluag, in the Inner Hebrides, and his wife Agnes Macmellin.[citation needed]
Political career
Maclean practised as a solicitor with practices in Cardiff and Lincoln's Inn Fields, London. A member of the Presbyterian Church of England, he was vice-president of the Cardiff Free Church Council in 1902-3, and also worked closely with the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. He was a last-minute choice as one of the Liberal Party candidates in Bath at the 1900 general election, but was defeated at the polls.[1] At the 1906 general election, he stood again and was elected as a Liberal Member of Parliament for the constituency.[2]
He lost his seat at the January 1910 general election, but moved constituency at the December 1910 general election and was returned for Peebles and Selkirk,[3] a seat he held until 1918,[4] and then represented Peebles and South Midlothian between 1918 and 1922[4] and the Northern Division of Cornwall between 1929 and 1932.[5]
Maclean was knighted[citation needed] and appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1916,[6] and was Leader of the Liberal Parliamentary Party from 1918 to 1922, as the nominal leader of the Liberal Party, Herbert Henry Asquith had lost his seat in the House of Commons. For two years he also served as Leader of the Opposition, while Labour had no official leader and Sinn Féin refused to participate in parliamentary government.[7]
Towards the end of his life, Maclean joined the National Government headed by Ramsay MacDonald. He served as President of the Board of Education from 1931 to 1932, when he died from cardiovascular disease at the age of sixty-eight.
Family
Maclean married Gwendolen Margaret Devitt (26 September 1880 - 23 July 1962) daughter of Andrew Devitt (1850–1931) and wife Jane Dales Morrison (1856–1947), on 26 October 1907. They and their eldest son, Ian, are buried in the churchyard of Holy Trinity Church, Penn, Buckinghamshire. Another of his four sons was the diplomat and spy, Donald Duart Maclean. The following information is incorrect: Vice Admiral Sir Hector Charles Donald was the son of Donald Charles Hugh Maclean DSO, 1875-1909, Captain Royal Scots. See Sir Hector's obituary at [8] Another son was:
- Vice Admiral Sir Hector Charles Donald Maclean (d. 19 February 2003), married in 1933 Opre Vyvyan (27 September 1910 - 18 August 2010, a descendant of the baronets Vyvyan of Trelowarren and the German Freiherren (Barons) von Schmiedern), and had three children:
- Charles David Hector Maclean (b. 1 March 1936), married on 20 November 1966 Judith Patricia Maclehose, and had two sons:
- Charles Hector Maclean (b. 7 August 1968)
- James Lachlan Maclean (b. 1970)
- Sara Maclean (b. 19 September 1934), married on 7 May 1955 Major Anthony Michael Everett (1921–2009), the parents of Simon Anthony Cunningham Everett (b. 1956) and actor Rupert James Hector Everett (b. Norfolk, 29 May 1959)[9]
- Katherine Mary Everett (b. 10 May 1937)
- Charles David Hector Maclean (b. 1 March 1936), married on 20 November 1966 Judith Patricia Maclehose, and had two sons:
References
- History of the Liberal Party 1895-1970, by Roy Douglas (Sidgwick & Jackson 1971)
- Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume III 1919-1945, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1979)
- ^ "The Popular Guide to the House of Commons" (Pall Mall Gazette "Extra"), February 1906, p. 48.
- ^ leighrayment.com House of Commons: Baillieston to Beckenham
- ^ "The Popular Guide to the House of Commons" (Pall Mall Gazette "Extra"), January 1911, p. 136.
- ^ a b leighrayment.com House of Commons: Paddington to Platting
- ^ leighrayment.com House of Commons: Cornwall to Cynon Valley
- ^ London Gazette: no. 29454. p. 1117. 28 January 1916.
- ^ Douglas in The History of the Liberal Party 1895-1970 observes that "The technical question whether the Leader of the Opposition was Maclean or William Adamson, Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party, was never fully resolved ... The fact that Adamson did not press his claim for Opposition leadership is of more than technical interest, for it shows that the Labour Party was still not taking itself seriously as a likely alternative government"
- ^ Vice-Admiral Sir Hector MacLean
- ^ Rupert Everett's father dies
Sources
- http://www.geneall.net/U/per_page.php?id=97018
- http://worldroots.com/brigitte/famous/r/ruperteverettline.htm
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Donald Maclean
- Biography at liberalhistory.org.uk
Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded by
Edmond Wodehouse
Sir Wyndham MurrayMember of Parliament for Bath
1906–January 1910
With: George Peabody GoochSucceeded by
Lord Alexander Thynne
Sir Charles Hunter, BtPreceded by
William YoungerMember of Parliament for Peebles and Selkirk
December 1910–1918Constituency renamed Peebles
and Southern MidlothianNew constituency Member of Parliament for Peebles and Southern Midlothian
1918–1922Succeeded by
Joseph WestwoodPreceded by
Alfred Martyn WilliamsMember of Parliament for North Cornwall
1929–1932Succeeded by
Sir Francis Dyke Acland, BtPolitical offices Preceded by
Herbert Henry AsquithLeader of the Opposition
1918–1920Succeeded by
Herbert Henry AsquithPreceded by
Hastings Lees-SmithPresident of the Board of Education
1931–1932Succeeded by
The Lord IrwinParty political offices Preceded by
Herbert Henry AsquithChairman of the Scottish Liberal Federation
c.1924–1928Succeeded by
John AnthonyPreceded by
John Mackinnon RobertsonPresident of the National Liberal Federation
1923–1926Succeeded by
John Alfred SpenderLeaders of the Liberal Party House of Lords (1859–1916) House of Commons (1859–1916) The Viscount Palmerston · William Ewart Gladstone · Marquess of Hartington · William Ewart Gladstone · Sir William Harcourt · Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman · H.H. AsquithOverall Leader (1916–1988) H. H. Asquith · Sir Donald Maclean (Acting Leader) · David Lloyd George · Sir Herbert Samuel · Sir Archibald Sinclair · Clement Davies · Jo Grimond · Jeremy Thorpe · Jo Grimond · David SteelIn 1988, the Party merged with the Social Democratic Party to form the Liberal Democrats. For their leaders, click here.Categories:- 1864 births
- 1932 deaths
- British Secretaries of State for Education
- Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies
- Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
- Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for Scottish constituencies
- Cardiovascular disease deaths in England
- Presidents of the Liberal Party (UK)
- Liberal Party (UK) MPs
- Leaders of the Liberal Party (UK)
- People from Farnworth
- Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- UK MPs 1906–1910
- UK MPs 1910–1918
- UK MPs 1918–1922
- UK MPs 1929–1931
- UK MPs 1931–1935
- British Presbyterians
- Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall
- Politics of Bath, Somerset
- Vice Admiral Sir Hector Charles Donald Maclean (d. 19 February 2003), married in 1933 Opre Vyvyan (27 September 1910 - 18 August 2010, a descendant of the baronets Vyvyan of Trelowarren and the German Freiherren (Barons) von Schmiedern), and had three children:
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