Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Lord Carrington" and "Peter Carrington" redirect here. For other holders of the title, see Baron Carrington. For the life peer, see Matthew Carrington, Baron Carrington of Fulham. For the rugby league footballer, see Peter Carrington (rugby).

Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
In office
4 May 1979 – 5 April 1982
Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher
Preceded byDavid Owen
Succeeded byFrancis Pym
Other ministerial offices
  • Nigel Birch
Succeeded byThe Earl of Gosford
Parliamentary Secretary to
the Ministry of Agriculture and Food
In office
5 November 1951 – 18 October 1954
Serving with Richard Nugent
Prime MinisterSir Winston Churchill
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
as a hereditary peer
6 June 1940 – 11 November 1999
Preceded byThe 5th Baron Carrington
Succeeded bySeat abolished[a]
as a life peer
17 November 1999 – 9 July 2018
Personal details
Born
Peter Alexander Rupert Carington

(1919-06-06)6 June 1919
London, England
Died9 July 2018(2018-07-09) (aged 99)
Bledlow, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Iona McClean
​
​
(m. 1942; died 2009)​
Children3, including Rupert
Parent
Alma materRoyal Military College, Sandhurst
Military service
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch/service British Army
Years of service1939–1949 (inactive from 1945)
RankMajor
UnitGrenadier Guards
Battles/warsSecond World War
AwardsMilitary Cross
Service No.85592

Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, Baron Carington of Upton,

British Conservative Party politician and hereditary peer who served as Defence Secretary from 1970 to 1974, Foreign Secretary from 1979 to 1982, Chairman of the General Electric Company from 1983 to 1984, and Secretary General of NATO from 1984 to 1988. In Margaret Thatcher's first government, he played a major role in negotiating the Lancaster House Agreement that ended the conflict in Rhodesia and enabled the creation of Zimbabwe
.

Carington was Foreign Secretary in 1982 when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. He took full responsibility for the failure to foresee this and resigned. As NATO secretary general, he helped prevent a war between Greece and Turkey during the 1987 Aegean crisis.[1]

Following the House of Lords Act 1999, which removed the automatic right of hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords, Carington was created a life peer as Baron Carington of Upton.

Background and early life

The surname "Carrington" (with two Rs) was adopted by royal licence dated 1839 by his direct male ancestor Robert Carrington, 2nd Baron Carrington, in lieu of Smith.[2] The latter's father, Robert Smith, MP for Nottingham, was created Baron Carrington in 1796 (Peerage of Ireland) and 1797 (Peerage of Great Britain).[3] The spelling of the surname was changed by royal licence to "Carington" (with one r) in 1880 by the 2nd Baron's sons, but the spelling of the title did not change.

Born in

Charles Colville, 2nd Viscount Colville of Culross.[7] His great-uncles were the Liberal statesman Charles Wynn-Carington, 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire, and politician and courtier the Hon. Sir William Carington.[citation needed] Carington grew up in Millaton House, in Bridestowe, Devon.[8] He went to Sandroyd School from 1928 to 1932,[9] based at that time in Cobham, Surrey, and Eton College. On leaving Eton, his housemaster, Cyril Butterwick, said of Carington, "For a really stupid boy, there are three possible professions: farming, soldiering and stockbroking".[6]

Military service

After training at the

Waal River and was awarded the Military Cross (MC) on 1 March 1945 "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in North West Europe".[13][12] After the war, Carington remained in the army until 1949.[14]

Political career 1946–1982

In 1938, Carington succeeded

Privy Counsellor in 1959.[17]

Stone set by Lord Carrington, while High Commissioner to Australia, at All Saints Church, Canberra

Following his return to Britain he served under

Lord Mountbatten, who was Chief of the Defence Staff, during a time of major restructuring and reform of the Admiralty.[19] After Alec Douglas-Home became prime minister in October 1963, Carington held the posts of minister without portfolio and Leader of the House of Lords until October 1964, when the general election led to a change of government. From 1964 to 1970 he was Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords
.

When the Conservatives returned to power in 1970 under

Irish republican internees during Operation Demetrius in August 1971, the then Home Secretary Merlyn Rees attributed the origins of the policy to Carington: '"It is my view (confirmed by Brian Faulkner before his death [NI's prime minister at the time]) that the decision to use methods of torture in Northern Ireland in 1971/72 was taken by ministers – in particular Lord Carrington, then secretary of state for defence."[20][21]

Carington became shadow defence secretary in 1968 after

Secretary of State for Energy
from January to March 1974.

Carington (then Foreign Secretary) and US Secretary of State Alexander Haig meet during a 1981 state visit by Margaret Thatcher to the US.

Carington was again leader of the opposition in the House of Lords from 1974 to 1979. In 1979 he was made

Minister for Overseas Development in the first cabinet of Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher spoke highly of Carington, stating that "Peter had great panache and the ability to identify immediately the main points in any argument; and he could express himself in pungent terms. We had disagreements, but there were never any hard feelings."[23]

Carington chaired the Lancaster House conference in 1979, attended by Ian Smith, Abel Muzorewa, Robert Mugabe, Joshua Nkomo and Josiah Tongogara, which brought to an end Rhodesia's Bush War. He later expressed his support for Mugabe over Smith.[24]

Carington was primarily responsible for ensuring the

Canadian constitution, a process known in the former dominion as patriation
.

Carington was foreign secretary when Argentina

Foreign and Commonwealth Office in its failure to foresee this development[25] and for the misleading signals sent by the Foreign Office on British intentions for retaining control over the Falklands.[26] In her autobiography, Margaret Thatcher later expressed her sorrow at his departure.[27] She had asked him to stay but he left because he and the Foreign Office were distrusted and even hated by many back-bench Conservatives.[28]

Lord Carrington was the last hereditary peer to hold one of the four Great Offices of State. After his resignation, no other member of the House of Lords held one of these offices until the appointment of former Prime Minister David Cameron as foreign secretary in 2023.[29][b]

Later life and death

Genscher
in Bonn, 1984

Carington served as Secretary General of NATO from 1984 to 1988. He was chairman of the Victoria and Albert Museum from 1983 to 1988.[31] He was appointed Chancellor of the Order of St Michael and St George on 1 August 1984,[32] serving until June 1994.[33]

In 1991, he presided over diplomatic talks about the breakup of Yugoslavia and attempted to pass a plan to end the wars and result in each republic becoming an independent nation.[34]

Aside from his political posts, Carington was chancellor of the

Bilderberg conferences from 1990 to 1998, being succeeded in 1999 by Étienne Davignon.[35] From 1983 to 2002, he was president of the Pilgrims Society,[36][37] and from 1971 to 2018 president of the Britain–Australia Society.[38] He was appointed Chancellor of the Order of the Garter on 8 November 1994,[39] a role from which he retired in October 2012.[40]

After the

Lord Barber of Tewkesbury in 2016, had been the oldest. He was the second longest-serving member of the Privy Council after the Duke of Edinburgh
.

He died on 9 July 2018, aged 99, of natural causes[42][43][4] at his home, the Manor House,[44] in Bledlow, Buckinghamshire.[45] His son Rupert succeeded him as 7th Baron Carrington.[6]

A memorial service was held at Westminster Abbey on 31 January 2019.[46]

Family

Carington married Iona McClean (19 March 1920 – 7 June 2009), daughter of Lt Col.

DL (born 1948). Carington's wife, Lady Carrington, died on 7 June 2009, aged 89.[48][49]

In popular culture

Carington was a guest on BBC Radio 4's long-running programme Desert Island Discs in 1975[50] and on the same station's A Good Read in 2004.[51]

In the 1977 war film A Bridge Too Far, John Stride played a Grenadier Guards captain at Nijmegen Bridge based on Carington. This portrayal depicted the historical argument between Carington and Major Julian Cook on whether to move forward along the "Hell's Highway" route.[52]

In February 1982 Carington was portrayed by Rowan Atkinson in a Not the Nine O'Clock News parody of Question Time, pedantically discussing an imminent nuclear holocaust.[53][54]

Carington was portrayed by James Fox in the 2002 BBC production of Ian Curteis's The Falklands Play.[55] He was also briefly portrayed by James Smith in the 2011 film The Iron Lady,[56] and by Jeff Rawle in the 2014 play Handbagged.[57]

Honours

St George's Chapel
in 2006

Honorary degrees

Arms

Coat of arms of Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington
Notes
6th Baron Carrington since 1938
Coronet
A coronet of a Baron
Crest
An elephant's head erased or eared gules charged on the neck with three fleurs-de-lis, two and one azure.
Torse
Mantling: Or and sable.
Escutcheon
Or, a chevron cotised between three demi-griffins couped those in chief respectant sable.[73][74]
Supporters
Two griffins wings elevated sable, the dexter charged on the body with three fleurs-de-lis palewise or and the sinister with three trefoils slipped palewise of the last.[75]
Motto
TENAX ET FIDELIS
Latin: Tenacious and faithful
Orders
The Order of the Garter circlet.[76]
Banner
The banner of the Baron Carrington's arms as Knight Companion of the Garter

Bibliography

  • Reflect on Things Past – The Memoirs of Lord Carrington. Published by William Collins, 1988.[77]

Notes

  1. ^ Seat abolished by the House of Lords Act 1999.
  2. ^ David Cameron was made a life peer, becoming Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton, at the time he was appointed Foreign Secretary.[30]

References

  1. ^ Alan Cowell (29 March 1987). "Greeks and Turks ease Aegean crisis". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  2. ^ Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume II, p. 197.
  3. ^ Kidd, Charles. Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage, 2015 Edition. London, England. p. 220.
  4. ^ a b "Peter Carington, Last Survivor of Churchill Govt, Dies at 99". Archived from the original on 10 July 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  5. ISBN 9781857432176
    . Retrieved 10 July 2018 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ a b c "Lord Carrington – obituary". The Telegraph. 10 July 2018. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  7. ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  8. ISBN 9780670916467
    .
  9. ^ {{cite web |url=https://archivesearch.lib.cam.ac.uk/repositories/9/resources/1508%7Ctitle=The Papers of Lord Carrington, Churchill Archives Centre|via=University of Cambridge
  10. ^ "No. 34593". The London Gazette. 27 January 1939. p. 608.
  11. ^ "No. 35077". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 February 1941. p. 954.
  12. ^ a b "No. 36961". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 February 1945. pp. 1173–1175.
  13. ^ "No. 36961". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 February 1945. p. 1171.
  14. ^ "No. 37815". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 December 1946. p. 2877.
    "No. 38636". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 June 1949. p. 2877.
    "No. 38654". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 July 1949. p. 3231.
  15. ^ Membership and principal office holders. Parliament of the United Kingdom.
  16. ^ "No. 39278". The London Gazette. 6 July 1951. p. 3687.
  17. ^ 'List of current Privy Counsellors' Archived 21 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Privy Council of the United Kingdom.
  18. ^ "No. 41860". The London Gazette. 3 November 1959. p. 6942.
    "No. 41891". The London Gazette. 11 December 1959. p. 7851.
    "No. 41966". The London Gazette. 26 February 1960. p. 1451.
    "No. 42044". The London Gazette. 27 May 1960. p. 3736.
    "No. 42249". The London Gazette. 13 January 1961. p. 263.
    "No. 42321". The London Gazette. 7 April 1961. p. 2546.
    "No. 42476". The London Gazette. 29 September 1961. p. 7055.
    "No. 42504". The London Gazette. 3 November 1961. p. 7931.
    "No. 42564". The London Gazette. 5 January 1962. p. 145.
    "No. 42909". The London Gazette. 1 February 1963. p. 980.
    "No. 42925". The London Gazette. 19 February 1963. p. 1619.
    "No. 42995". The London Gazette. 17 May 1963. p. 4217.
    "No. 43077". The London Gazette. 9 August 1963. p. 6683.
  19. ^ C. Lee. Carrington. An Honourable Man. Viking. Milton Keynes (2018) pp. 169–70.
  20. ^ Hennessy, Mark. "British ministers sanctioned torture of NI internees". The Irish Times. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  21. ^ "British government authorised use of torture methods in NI in early 1970s". BBC News. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  22. ^ "Powell's 'rivers of blood' legacy". BBC News. 18 April 2008.
  23. ISBN 0002550490
  24. ISBN 978-0-14-104079-0
    .
  25. ^ Erik J. Evans, Thatcher and Thatcherism (1997), p. 99.
  26. ^ "The dishonourable Boris Johnson has brought us to the brink of catastrophe". The Guardian. 15 July 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  27. ^ Charles Moore, Margaret Thatcher: The Authorized Biography: Volume I: From Grantham to the Falklands (2015), 1:674–75.
  28. ^ Hugo Young, One of Us: A Biography of Mrs. Thatcher (1989), p. 265.
  29. ^ "Peter Carrington". European Leadership Network. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  30. ^ Scott, Jennifer; Osborne, Samuel (13 November 2023). "David Cameron appointed foreign secretary and made peer in shock cabinet reshuffle move". Sky News. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  31. ISBN 9780670916467
    .
  32. ^ a b "No. 49826". The London Gazette. 3 August 1984. p. 10601.
  33. ^ "Court Circular". Independent. 10 June 1994. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013.
  34. ^ "Obituary: Lord Carrington". BBC News. 10 July 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  35. ISBN 0-679-40588-7
    .
  36. ^ Who's Who. 1999.
  37. ^ "Centennial History". pilgrimsociety.org.
  38. ^ "Vale Lord Carrington". britain-australia.org.uk. Archived from the original on 6 June 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  39. ^ a b "No. 53843". The London Gazette. 8 November 1994. p. 15625.
  40. ^ "No. 60301". The London Gazette. 17 October 2012. p. 19937.
  41. ^ a b "No. 55676". The London Gazette. 23 November 1999. p. 12466.
  42. ^ "Ex-foreign secretary Lord Carrington dies". BBC News. 10 July 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  43. ^ Langdon, Julia (10 July 2018). "Lord Carrington obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  44. ^ "The Manor House, Bledlow".
  45. doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000380447. (Subscription or UK public library membership
    required.)
  46. ^ "Lord Carrington remembered at Westminster Abbey service".
  47. ^ "Obituary: Lord Ashcome". The Telegraph. 25 December 2013. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  48. ^ "Lady Carrington". The Daily Telegraph. London. 24 June 2009. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  49. ^ Langdon, Julia (10 July 2018). "Lord Carrington obituary". The Guardian.
  50. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs, Lord Carrington".
  51. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - A Good Read, Lord Carrington & Clare Francis".
  52. ^ "Carrington's One Man Decision". Key Military. 29 August 2019.
  53. ^ "Not The Nine O'Clock News episode guide, see: Season 4, Episode 4". SOTCAA.
  54. ^ "Episode 1, Compilations, Not the Nine O'Clock News – BBC Two". BBC. 27 October 1995. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  55. ^ "James Fox". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  56. ^ "Cast". Straysthefilm.com. Archived from the original on 10 July 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  57. ^ "Handbagged review – Playful speculation on Thatcher's meetings with the Queen". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  58. ^ "No. 41404". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 June 1958. p. 3514.
  59. ^ "No. 49375". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 June 1983. p. 19.
  60. ^ "No. 50104". The London Gazette. 26 April 1985. p. 5844.
  61. ^ "No. 51365". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 June 1988. p. 3.
  62. ^ "No. 53691". The London Gazette. 7 June 1994. p. 8301.
  63. ^ (in Spanish) "Royal Decree 554/1988, 3 June", Boletín Oficial del Estado, No. 134, 4 June 1988, p. 17360.
  64. ^ Ronald Reagan: "Remarks on Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Lord Peter Carrington Archived 29 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine", 10 May 1988. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project.
  65. ^ "Honorary degrees conferred 1977" (PDF). University of Cambridge. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  66. ^ "Calendar of the University of Essex – Former Chancellors, Vice-Chancellors, Emeritus Professors, Emeritus Librarians, Honorary Fellows and Honorary Graduates of the University". Essex.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  67. ^ "Lord Carrington – Chancellor of the University of Reading – University of Reading". Rdg.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  68. ^ "honorary graduates of the university of reading – University of Reading". Rdg.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 16 July 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  69. ^ "Harvard University Commencement | Some honorary degree recipients". Commencement.harvard.edu. Archived from the original on 24 January 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  70. ^ Honorary Graduates of the University of Nottingham. University of Nottingham Archived 7 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  71. ^ "Home Page – Alumni Association". Newcastle University. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  72. ^ Chancellor's choice: honorary degrees for top 10. University of Oxford (21 November 2003) Archived 14 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  73. ^ Kidd, Charles, Debrett's peerage & Baronetage, 2015 edition, London, 2015, p. 220, with existing addition of "couped", although demi-lions usually shown couped not erased.
  74. ^ Chesshyre, Hubert (1996), The Friends of St. George's & Descendants of the Knights of the Garter Annual Review 1995/96, vol. VII, p. 287
  75. ^ Kidd, Charles, Debrett's peerage & Baronetage, 2015 edition, London, 2015, p. 220, amended by existing text adding further clarity, namely "on the body". The charges are here not shown palewise (in a vertical column) as in the blazon. Debrett's blazon makes no mention of beaked etc., or as depicted.
  76. ^ Burke, John (1832). A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire. H. Colburn and R. Bentley.
  77. ^ "Reflect On Things Past". goodreads.com. Retrieved 6 September 2018.

Further reading

  • Bennett, Harry. "Lord Carrington, 1979–82." in British Foreign Secretaries Since 1974 (Routledge, 2004), pp. 131–154.
  • Carrington, Peter Alexander Rupert Carington Baron. Reflect on things past: The memoirs of Lord Carrington (HarperCollins, 1988), a primary source.
    • Kedourie, Elie. "False inevitabilities." American Scholar (1990) 59#3, pp. 462–468, review.
  • Novak, Andrew. "Face-saving maneuvers and strong third-party mediation: the Lancaster house conference on Zimbabwe-Rhodesia." International Negotiation 14.1 (2009): 149–174. online[dead link]
  • Sharp, Paul. "The Thatcher-Carrington Partnership." in Thatcher's Diplomacy (Palgrave Macmillan, London, 1997), pp. 30–49.
  • Tendi, Blessing-Miles. "Soldiers contra diplomats: Britain's role in the Zimbabwe/Rhodesia ceasefire (1979–1980) reconsidered." Small Wars & Insurgencies 26.6 (2015): 937–956.
  • Yorke, Edmund. "'A Family Affair': the Lancaster House Agreement." in Diplomacy at the Highest Level (Palgrave Macmillan, 1996), pp. 200–219.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington.
Political offices
Preceded by Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries
1951–1954
Served alongside: Richard Nugent 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Nigel Birch
 Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Defence
1954–1956 		Succeeded by
Preceded by First Lord of the Admiralty
1959–1963 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister without Portfolio
1963–1964 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Leader of the House of Lords
1963–1964 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Secretary of State for Defence
1970–1974 		Succeeded by
Ian Gilmour
New office Secretary of State for Energy
1974 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Foreign Secretary
1979–1982 		Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
High Commissioner to Australia

1956–1959 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Secretary General of NATO
1984–1988 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords
1963–1970 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chairman of the Conservative Party
1972–1974 		Succeeded by
William Whitelaw
Preceded by Leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords
1974–1979 		Succeeded by
Business positions
Preceded by Chairman of the Australia and New Zealand Bank Ltd
1967–1969 		Merged into ANZ Banking Group
New title Chairman of ANZ Banking Group
1969–1970 		Succeeded by
Academic offices
Preceded by Chancellor of the University of Reading
1992–2007 		Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Chancellor of the Order of the Garter
1994–2012 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Longest-serving member in the House of Lords
2007–2018 		Succeeded by
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Baron Carrington
2nd creation
1938–2018 		Succeeded by
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by Baron Carrington
3rd creation
1938–2018
Member of the House of Lords
(1940–1999) 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_Carington,_6th_Baron_Carrington&oldid=1216554663"