Sir Alexander (Alec) Douglas-Home


(Lord Home of the Hirsel)

1903 - 1995

Sir Alexander Douglas Home
©2022 Gazetteer for Scotland

Sir Alexander Douglas Home

British Prime Minister. Born in London, but of a Scottish Borders family. Douglas-Home succeeded to the Scottish Earldom of Home (he was the 14th Earl) in 1951 on the death of his father. However, in 1963, he renounced this title for life to become Prime Minister. He succeeded a sick Harold Macmillan (1894 - 1986), who could also claim Scottish descent, in a short-lived administration blighted by the Profumo Affair. His liberal policies attempted to stimulate industry and achieve compromise on racial issues. Douglas-Home was also a committed anti-Communist and both as Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister worked closely with the USA in this regard. He returned to Government in the Heath administration of 1970, serving as Foreign Secretary. In 1974, he left the House of Commons having been awarded a life peerage as Lord Home of the Hirsel. The Hirsel, near Coldstream, had been the family seat since the 17th century.


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