Anthony Eden

The Right Honourable Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC (June 12, 1897– January 14, 1977), British politician, was Foreign Secretary during World War II and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1950s. He is remembered mainly for his role in the disastrous Suez Crisis of 1956. In a 2004 poll of 139 political science academics organised by MORI, Eden was voted the least successful British Prime Minister of the 20th Century.

Prime Minister

In April 1955 Churchill finally retired, and Sir Anthony succeeded him as Prime Minister. Eden was a very popular figure, as a result of his long wartime service and also his famous good looks and charm. On taking office he immediately called a general election, at which the Conservatives were returned with an increased majority. But Sir Anthony had never held a domestic portfolio and had little experience in economic matters. He left these areas to his lieutenants such as Rab Butler, and concentrated largely on foreign policy, forming a close alliance with U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower.

Related Topics:
1955 - Rab Butler - Dwight Eisenhower

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This alliance proved illusory, however, when in 1956 Sir Anthony, in conjunction with France, tried to prevent Gamal Abdel Nasser, President of Egypt, nationalising the Suez Canal, which had been owned since the 19th century by British and French shareholders in the Suez Canal Company. Sir Anthony, drawing on his experience in the 1930s, saw Nasser as another Mussolini. Sir Anthony considered the two men aggressive nationalist socialists determined to invade other countries. Others believed that Nasser was acting from legitimate patriotic concerns.

Related Topics:
1956 - Gamal Abdel Nasser - Egypt - Suez Canal - Mussolini

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In October 1956, after months of negotiation and attempts at mediation had failed to dissuade Nasser, Britain and France, in conjunction with Israel, invaded Egypt and occupied the Suez Canal Zone. But Eisenhower immediately and strongly opposed the invasion. The U.S. President was an advocate of decolonisation, because it would liberate colonies, strengthen U.S. interests, and presumably make other Arab and African leaders more sympathetic to the United States. Eden had ignored Britain's financial dependence on the U.S. in the wake of World War II, and was forced to bow to American pressure to withdraw. The Suez Crisis is widely taken as marking the end of Britain (along with France) as a World power.

Related Topics:
1956 - Israel - Decolonisation - Suez Crisis

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Suez fiasco ruined Sir Anthony's reputation for statesmanship and led to a breakdown in his health. His Foreign Secretary, Harold Macmillan, despite having been one of the architects of Suez, manoeuvred Eden into resignation and succeeded him as Prime Minister in January 1957. He retained his personal popularity and was made Earl of Avon in 1961. In retirement he lived quietly in Wiltshire with his second wife, and published a highly acclaimed personal memoir, Another World, as well as several volumes of political memoirs. The Earl of Avon died in Salisbury in 1977 at the age of 79.

Related Topics:
Statesmanship - Health - Harold Macmillan - 1957 - 1961 - Salisbury - 1977

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

From 1945-1973, Eden was Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, England.

Related Topics:
Chancellor - University of Birmingham - England

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Eden's surviving son, Nicholas Eden (1930-1985), known as Viscount Eden until 1977, was also a politician and was a minister in the Thatcher government until his premature death from AIDS at the age of 55.

Related Topics:
Nicholas Eden - 1930 - 1985 - 1977 - Thatcher - AIDS

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~