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Macmillan was one of the
first supporters of the United Europe
movement |
1957: Macmillan becomes Prime
Minister |
England have
Harold Macmillan has accepted the Queen's invitation to become prime
minister following the sudden resignation of Sir Anthony Eden.
The appointment was officially announced from Buckingham Palace this
afternoon after the Queen had held meetings with Tory elders Sir Winston
Churchill and the Marquess of Salisbury.
In a televised speech this evening, Mr Macmillan, 62, said: "We have a
difficult task before us in this country - all of us.
"It will need all our courage and strength, and we shall need the
sympathy, good will and understanding of everyone in the country, whatever
their party or beliefs."
Sir Anthony Eden resigned yesterday on the grounds of ill health in the
wake of the Suez crisis.
Many had expected his deputy, Rab Butler, to succeed him but it is
understood his views on the Suez crisis would have split the Conservative
party.
Accepting the decision gracefully, Mr Butler, 54, today pledged his
support to the new prime minister and wished him "the greatest possible
success".
Opposition leader Hugh Gaitskell, who is currently on a lecture tour of
the United States, has called for an immediate general election but this
has been rejected by Harold Macmillan.
Born in 1894 to an American mother and British father, Harold Macmillan
served in WWI. He was wounded three times and received the Military Cross.
He was educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford before beginning
his political career in 1924, when he was elected MP for Stockton-on-Tees.
In 1938 he published his book "The Middle Way", which advocated a wide extension of social
enterprise and credit.
He was also one of the first supporters of the United Europe movement.
From 1940 he served in Churchill's war cabinet.
He was appointed Minister of Housing in 1951 and was very successful in
this post, keeping to his pledge of building 300,000 houses a year.
In 1954 he became Minster of Defence, before being appointed Foreign
Secretary in 1955 and most recently Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Mr Macmillan, who is married with four children, has vowed to repair
damaged relations with the US and the UN following the Suez
crisis.