David Lloyd George

17 January 1863-26 March 1945. British liberal statesman, and considered as the most successful Welsh politician of the 20th century. Famous for his oratory qualities, his sense of humor and his extravagance.

Family and childhood:

His father, William George, came from a rather wealthy family of farmers from Wales. As he became a teacher, and moved to Manchester where he married Miss Elizabeth George, with whom he had two children. David was the older one. As David was still a young boy, the family moved back to the Welsh countryside to take care of the farm.

William George died from pneumonia when David was only three. His mother could not carry the farm alone, so she asked her brother for help. David grew up in the countryside with his mother, uncle and brother. He was a brilliant child at school and showed a pretty early interest for politics. He visited the House of Commons when he was 17, and claimed that he was "very much disappointed with them" (Dilnot 26). As he was still a schoolboy at the Welsh contryside, he led a micro-revolution against the Anglican headteacher. He was already self-confident and had independentist ideas. He became an advocate when he was 21, and became early very popular in the Welsh countryside because of his virulence and his strong personality. In 1888, he married Maggie Owen.

His beginning as a politician:

He joined the Liberal Party in his twenties and triumphed against the Conservative Party at the General elections in 1890. He became a Welsh MP and was nicknamed "the boy politician" (Constantine ??). He soon claimed that he was for the home rule "to Ireland but to Scotland as well, and to Wales" (of course) (Dilnot 44). He was rather independent and nonconformist in his own Party, and defended his own ideas, even if they were not those of every Liberal statesman.

A prominent politician:

When the Liberal Party won the general elections in 1906 (in coalition with 30 Labour members), Lloyd George became a cabinet minister. First President of the Board of Trade, he was chosen by Asquith in 1908 to be the new Chancellor of the Exchequer. On 29 April 1909, he presented his first budget in Parliament. It was based on a new social system: increasing the taxes (an impost on income, a super tax on rich people and a tax on land) in order to raise the money and finance social insurance. Lloyd George also wanted to create a "War Budget" to defend the country. These reforms were seen as brilliant or were strongly criticised. After a lot of debates and the veto of the House of Lords, the budget was finally voted on April 28, 1910.

Lloyd George during the Great War :

Lloyd George was a pacifist and many thought he would resign after the government decided to enter the war in 1914. He did not and in a speech claimed that the country would need a lot of money, that it would be necessary to create a huge war loan, and that finance was as important as military operations and soldiers. He denounced the lack of war material. In May 1915, he became Minister of Munitions in the Coalition Government. In July 1916, he became Secretary of State for War. He showed a lot of efficiency, perseverance and leadership, that is probably why he was appointed Prime Minister by the Labour and Conservative leaders on 7 December 1916, at the age of 53.

Prime Minister in a time of crisis:

The first huge crisis he had to deal with was of course the first World War. His main aim was to put a victorious end to it. He was involved in the military strategies of the country and tried to reinforce the collaboration with the Allied forces, especially with the French general Foch. When the Armistice was announced on 11 November 1918, Lloyd George was doubtlessly seen as a triumphant Prime Minister, and was even nicknamed "the man who won the war" (Constantine 45). He took part as a chief delegate to draft the Versailles Treaty in 1919, which made Germany the only country responsible for the War.

But, he soon realized that he had been appointed Prime Minister as the man of the situation, not because of a dominant position of the Liberal Party. On the contrary, many liberals never forgave him his disloyalty against Asquith. This one refused to enter in his post-war cabinet, and he dealt with a personal crisis, although he was very popular in the country. The second crisis Lloyd George had to deal with was the Irish War of Independence. As his personal convictions were not originally against Home Rule, he chose negotiation and supported the settlement of the Irish Free State in December 1921.

In 1922, he wanted to take the country into an unnecessary war in Turkey. Indeed, the Turkish army occupied in August 1922 a zone that had been considered demilitarized after a Treaty ratified by the Allied forces and Turkey (former Ottoman Empire). Lloyd George, with the support of the French government, decided to send troop in Chanak, in order to keep the region of Dardanelles neutral. After the War trauma, this intervention had to be very unpopular in Great Britain and weakened a little bit more Lloys George's legitimacy.

He lost more and more credit in Parliament and in the public opinion. He finally resigned as Prime Minister in October 1922 after 17 years of being constantly in government. He remained until 1940 a major actor of British political life and regularly intervened in Parliament. He died on 26 March 1945 and was buried in his childhood Welsh village, Afon Dwyfor.

Sources :

Dilnot, Frank. Lloyd George: The Man and His Story. London: Adelphi Terrace. T. Fisher Unwin, 1917.

Constantine, Stephen. Lloyd George. London and New York: Lancaster Pamphlets, 1992.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/george_david_lloyd.shtml

http://www.lermuseum.org/en/chronology/interwar-years-1919-1938/chanak-crisis-1922/