Lord Carrington, a former foreign secretary and the last surviving member of Winston Churchills cabinet, has died at the age of 99.
Lord Carrington, the sixth Baron of Carrington, was the longest-serving member of the House of Lords at the time of his death. Across a succession of Conservative governments and leaders, he held a number of positions, including several cabinet positions as defence secretary, energy secretary and foreign secretary.
It was in that last role that he famously resigned from Margaret Thatchers cabinet in 1982, taking responsibility for failing to anticipate Argentinas invasion of the Falkland Islands, which he described as a “humiliating affront”. His resignation was widely praised, seen as a sign of his personal honour and principled approach to politics.
Born Peter Alexander Rupert Carington in 1919, he was educated at Eton then Sandhurst. He entered politics after serving as a tank commander in World War II, for which he was awarded a Military Cross – a fact he left out of his memoirs, later claiming he had won it by “pot luck”.
He played a leading role in international diplomacy; serving as the British high commissioner to Australia, and representing the UK in talks which led to the formation of the European Union. In 1979, he chaired the Lancaster House talks which led to the foundation of Zimbabwe, and was secretary general of NATO during the final years of the Cold War.
Across a starred career, he also held positions as a director of several banks, as the chairman of trustees at the Victoria and Albert Museum, as chairman of the Conservative Party and as chancellor of Reading University.
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