Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, known as Alec Douglas-Home, was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1963 to October 1964.
Born on 2 July 1903 in Mayfair, London, he was the eldest son of Charles Cospatrick Archibald Douglas-Home, 13th Earl of Home, and Lady Lilian Lambton, daughter of the 4th Earl of Durham.
He died on 9 October 1995 at The Hirsel, the family estate near Coldstream in Berwickshire, Scotland, at the age of 92.
Throughout his life he held successive titles and styles: Lord Dunglass from 1918 to 1951, the 14th Earl of Home from 1951 until he disclaimed his peerages in 1963, Sir Alec Douglas-Home thereafter, and finally Baron Home of the Hirsel as a life peer from 1974.
He remains notable as the last British prime minister to hold office while a member of the House of Lords before renouncing his hereditary titles to sit in the Commons.
Siblings
Alec was the eldest of seven children born to the 13th Earl of Home and Lady Lilian Lambton.
His siblings were Lady Bridget Douglas-Home (born 4 May 1905, died 1980); Henry Montagu Douglas-Home (1907–1980), an ornithologist sometimes known as the BBC Bird Man who wrote on birds and later published memoirs; Lady Rachel Douglas-Home (born 10 April 1910, died 4 April 1996), who married Lord William Walter Montagu-Douglas-Scott; William Douglas-Home (1912–1992), a well-known playwright celebrated for his light comedies and other works for the stage; Edward Charles Douglas-Home (born 1 March 1920, died 17 February 2006); and George Cospatrick Douglas-Home (1922–14 June 1943), who was killed on active service as a Pilot Officer in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and remained unmarried.
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Career
Educated at Ludgrove School, Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford, where he read modern history, Alec Douglas-Home entered politics as Member of Parliament for Lanark in 1931 (sitting as a Unionist).
He served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Neville Chamberlain, accompanying him during the Munich negotiations of 1938.
After losing his seat in 1945 he returned to the Commons in 1950, only to succeed his father as 14th Earl of Home in 1951 and move to the House of Lords.
He held successive ministerial posts including Minister of State at the Scottish Office (1951–55), Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations (1955–60), Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council (1957–60), and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1960–63).
Following Harold Macmillan’s resignation in October 1963 amid political difficulties, Douglas-Home was chosen as Conservative leader and appointed Prime Minister.
He promptly disclaimed his peerages under the Peerage Act 1963, won a by-election for Kinross and West Perthshire, and led the government until the Conservatives’ narrow defeat by Labour in the October 1964 general election.
He remained Leader of the Opposition until 1965, when Edward Heath succeeded him.
After the Conservative victory of 1970 he returned to government as Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary until 1974, overseeing matters including Britain’s entry into the European Community.
Upon the fall of the Heath government he accepted a life peerage as Baron Home of the Hirsel and largely retired from front-line politics, though he continued occasional public roles.
Accolades
Douglas-Home was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1951.
In 1962 he was made a Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle (KT), one of Scotland’s highest orders of chivalry.
After renouncing his hereditary titles he was known as Sir Alec Douglas-Home until created a life peer in December 1974 as Baron Home of the Hirsel, of Coldstream in the County of Berwick.
He received an honorary Doctor of Laws and later served as Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University.
He also published an autobiography, The Way the Wind Blows (1976), along with other reflective works on country life and letters.
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