Hailsham, Quintin Hogg, 2nd Baron

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Hailsham, Quintin Hogg, 2nd Baron (1907–2001). Conservative politician and lawyer. Hogg entered Parliament at the Oxford by-election of 1938, a supporter of appeasement. He turned against Chamberlain before the latter's fall in 1940. Hogg rose to prominence in the Tory Reform Group, seeking to commit the party to a vigorous policy of social reform. Elevated to the Lords in 1950 on his father's death, he anticipated a career as a barrister. But Hailsham was recalled to government by Eden and enjoyed high office under Macmillan, including a successful period as party chairman. He renounced his peerage in 1963 to contest—unsuccessfully—the party leadership, returning to the Commons. He anticipated becoming home secretary under Heath in 1970 but, ennobled with a life peerage, served instead as lord chancellor, as his father had done. Hailsham showed his adaptability by retaining frontbench status under Margaret Thatcher, becoming lord chancellor again in 1979. By the time he retired in 1987, he was the longest-serving cabinet minister since the war.

David Dutton

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