Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury
DL | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The then-Viscount Cranborne in 1927
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
South Dorset | |||||||||||||||||||
| In office 30 May 1929 – 21 January 1941 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Robert Yerburgh | ||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Victor Montagu | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 27 August 1893 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 23 February 1972 (aged 78) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | British | ||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Conservative | ||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse |
Elizabeth Cavendish (m. 1915) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Children |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Parent | |||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford | ||||||||||||||||||
Robert Arthur James Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury (27 August 1893 – 23 February 1972), known as Viscount Cranborne from 1903 to 1947, was a British Conservative politician.[1][2][3]
Background
Nicknamed "Bobbety", Salisbury was the eldest son of
Military career
Salisbury served in
Political career
Salisbury, as Viscount Cranborne, was elected as a
In 1941, he was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in one of his father's titles as Baron Cecil of Essendon. He was Secretary of State for the Colonies in February–November 1942, Lord Privy Seal between 1942 and 1943, Leader of the House of Lords between 1942 and 1945 and again Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs between 1943 and 1945. As a friend of Churchill, in 1943, he was appointed President of the English-Speaking Union to promote the universality of the language throughout the British Empire. His final wartime appointment was as President of the University College of the South West for a statutory ten years before it was converted to university status.
In 1947,
During the 1950s, when his party returned to office, successively, he served Churchill, Anthony Eden, and Harold Macmillan as Lord Privy Seal from 1951 to 1952; Leader of the House of Lords from 1951 to 1957; Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations in 1952 and Lord President of the Council from December 1952 to 1957. During the period of the coronation of Elizabeth II, he was appointed Acting Foreign Secretary, as Eden was then seriously ill after a series of botched operations on his bile duct.
In November 1951, he received an honorary doctorate of law from the University of Liverpool.[4]
Lord Salisbury was known as a hardline
In January 1957, Eden resigned as prime minister. The two candidates were Rab Butler and Harold Macmillan. The Queen took advice from Winston Churchill (who backed Macmillan), Edward Heath (who, as Chief Whip, was aware of backbench opinion), and Salisbury, who interviewed the Cabinet one by one and with his famous speech impediment, asked each one whether he was for "Wab or Hawold" (it is thought that only between one and three were for "Wab"). To the surprise of the media, the advice was overwhelmingly to appoint Macmillan as Prime Minister instead of Butler.
Lord Salisbury resigned from his position as
Salisbury's cultural pursuits were recognised when he was made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Arts that year.[6] These artistic credentials were enhanced as a Trustee of the National Gallery from 1960 to 1966.
Apart from his political career, Salisbury was Chancellor of the University of Liverpool from 1951 until 1971. In 1970, students at the university staged an occupation at Senate House to demand his removal over his support for apartheid and other views.
Marriage and children
Lord Salisbury married Elizabeth Vere Cavendish, daughter of Lord Richard Cavendish (grandson of the 7th Duke of Devonshire) and his wife Lady Moyra de Vere Beauclerk (a daughter of The 10th Duke of St Albans),[citation needed] on 8 December 1915. They had three sons, two of whom predeceased their parents:[citation needed]
- Robert Edward Peter Gascoyne-Cecil, 6th Marquess of Salisbury(born 24 October 1916, died 11 July 2003)
- Michael Charles James Gascoyne-Cecil (born 27 October 1918, died 27 October 1934)
- Richard Hugh Vere Gascoyne-Cecil (born 31 January 1924, a Second World War.
Lord Salisbury died in February 1972, at 78, and was succeeded by his eldest and only surviving son, Robert, who became the 6th Marquess. Lady Salisbury died on 5 June 1982.[7]
Media portrayal
He is portrayed by Clive Francis in the Netflix series The Crown.
References
- ^ Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Marquess of Salisbury
- ^ Portraits of Robert Arthur James Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury at the National Portrait Gallery, London
- ^ "Archival material relating to Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury". UK National Archives.
- ^ Other academic honorary awards: Doctor of Law: Toronto University, 1949; Birmingham University, 1950; Cambridge, 1954; Manchester University, 1954; London, 1955. He received as well an honorary Doctorate of Literature, Exeter University, 1956; Hon LLD St Andrews, 1953.
- ^ Copping, 1972, p. 5.
- ^ Burke's Peerage & Baronetage (106th ed.) (Salisbury)
- ^ Burke's, ibid.
Further reading
- Simon Ball: The Guardsmen: Harold Macmillan, Three Friends and the World They Made. Harper Perennial, London 2005, ISBN 978-0-00-653163-0.
External links
- Newspaper clippings about Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW
- works at WorldCat by Robert Gascoyne-Cecil Cecil of Chelwood, Viscount
|  | |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bishops of Salisbury (1477–1550) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Lay chancellors (1551–1671) | ||
| Bishops of Salisbury (1671–1837) | ||
| Bishops of Oxford (1837–1937) | ||
| Knights and Ladies Companion (since 1937) | ||