Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury

The Most Honourable The Marquess of Salisbury KG PC
Lord President of the Council
In office 25 November 1952 – 29 March 1957
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Winston Churchill Anthony Eden
Preceded by	The Lord Woolton
Succeeded by	The Earl of Home
Leader of the House of Lords
In office 21 February 1942 – 26 July 1945
Monarch	George VI
Prime Minister	Winston Churchill
Preceded by	The Lord Moyne
Succeeded by	The Viscount Addison
In office 28 October 1951 – 29 March 1957
Monarch	George VI Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Winston Churchill Anthony Eden Harold Macmillan
Preceded by	The Viscount Addison
Succeeded by	The Earl of Home
Personal details
Born	27 August 1893 (1893-08-27)
Died	23 February 1972 (1972-02-24) (aged 78)
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Cavendish (1897–1982)

Robert Arthur James Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury, KG, PC (27 August 1893 – 23 February 1972), known as Viscount Cranborne from 1903 to 1947, was a British Conservative politician.

Background

Nicknamed "Bobbety", Salisbury was the eldest son of James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury, by his wife Lady Cicely, daughter of Arthur Gore, 5th Earl of Arran. He was the grandson of Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury.

Political career

Salisbury was elected to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament (MP) for South Dorset in 1929, and served as Joint Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 1935 to 1938, as Paymaster-General in 1940 and as Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs from 1940 to 1942. In 1941 he was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron Cecil. He was Secretary of State for the Colonies in 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. In 1947 he succeeded his father in the marquessate.

During the 1950s he held office under successively Winston 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 1952 to 1957.

In January 1957, Eden resigned as prime minister, and did not give advice to Queen Elizabeth II as to who should succeed him. The two candidates were Rab Butler and Harold Macmillan. The Queen took advice from senior Ministers, as well as Winston Churchill (who backed Macmillan), Edward Heath (who as Chief Whip was aware of backbench opinion) and from 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"). The advice was overwhelmingly to appoint Macmillan as Prime Minister instead of Butler. The media were taken by surprise by this choice, but Butler himself later confessed in his memoirs that while there was a sizeable anti-Butler faction on the backbenches, there was no such anti-Macmillan faction.

Salisbury was known as a hardline imperialist. In 1952, as Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations, he tried to make permanent the exile of Seretse Khama, kgosi of the Bamangwato people in Bechuanaland, for marrying a white British woman. During the 1960s, Lord Salisbury continued to be a staunch defender of the white-dominated governments in South Africa and in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He was also a fierce opponent of liberal-left attempts to reform the House of Lords, yet he created what is known as the Salisbury Convention, whereby the House of Lords will not oppose the second or third reading of any government legislation promised in its election manifesto. In 1961 he became the first president of the Conservative Monday Club, a post he held until his death.

Other public appointments

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 similarly reactionary views. He was also Chancellor of the Order of the Garter between 1960 and 1972.

Family

Lord Salisbury married Elizabeth Vere Cavendish, daughter of Lord Richard Cavendish, in 1915. They had three sons, two of whom pre-deceased their parents.

The second son, the Hon. Michael Charles James Cecil (1918–1934) died as an adolescent while the third son the Hon. Richard Hugh Cecil (1924–1944) was killed in the Second World War.

Lord Salisbury died in February 1972, aged 78, and was succeeded by his eldest and only surviving son, Robert, who became the 6th Marquess. Lady Salisbury died in 1982.

External links

• 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 listed at the UK National Archives

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Robert Yerburgh	Member of Parliament for South Dorset 1929–1941	Succeeded by Viscount Hinchingbrooke
Political offices
Preceded by The Earl Stanhope	Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs 1935–1938 with The Earl Stanhope 1935–1936 The Earl of Plymouth 1936–1938	Succeeded by The Earl of Plymouth R. A. Butler
Vacant Title last held by The Earl Winterton	Paymaster-General 1940	Vacant Title next held by The Lord Hankey
Preceded by The Viscount Caldecote	Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs 1940–1942	Succeeded by Clement Attlee
Preceded by The Lord Moyne	Colonial Secretary 1942	Succeeded by Oliver Stanley
Preceded by Hon. Sir Stafford Cripps	Lord Privy Seal 1942–1943	Succeeded by The Lord Beaverbrook
Preceded by The Lord Moyne	Leader of the House of Lords 1942–1945	Succeeded by The Viscount Addison
Preceded by Clement Attlee	Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs 1943–1945	Succeeded by The Viscount Addison
Preceded by Richard Stokes	Lord Privy Seal 1951–1952	Succeeded by Harry Crookshank
Preceded by The Viscount Addison	Leader of the House of Lords 1951–1957	Succeeded by The Earl of Home
Preceded by The Lord Ismay	Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations 1952	Succeeded by The Viscount Swinton
Preceded by The Lord Woolton	Lord President of the Council 1952–1957	Succeeded by The Earl of Home
Party political offices
Preceded by The Lord Moyne	Leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords 1942–1957	Succeeded by The Earl of Home
Preceded by Club established	Chairman of the Monday Club May 1961 - 1962	Succeeded by Paul Bristol
Honorary titles
Preceded by The Earl of Halifax	Chancellor of the Order of the Garter 1960–1972	Succeeded by The Viscount Cobham
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by James Gascoyne-Cecil	Marquess of Salisbury 1947–1972	Succeeded by Robert Gascoyne-Cecil
Peerage of England
Preceded by James Gascoyne-Cecil	Baron Cecil (writ of acceleration) 1941–1972	Succeeded by Robert Gascoyne-Cecil