British Statesman. After an early career in the army, during which time he saw active service during World War Two, he entered politics and became, for about 30 years, the mainstay of the Conservative Party, under the leadership of both Edward Heath and Margaret Thatcher, serving in a wide number of cabinet positions, most notably as Home Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister. Having been a baby when his father was killed during the First World War, he was raised by his mother and paternal grandfather. He was educated at Wixenford School in Wokingham and Winchester College, after passing the entrance exam. From there he went to Trinity College, Cambridge where he obtained a Third in Law and a Second in History, as well as winning a blue for golf. But war was near and he joined the Scots Guards, and soon procured a commission as a regular officer. He later served in the 6th Guards Tank Brigade, a separate unit from the Guards Armoured Division. He commanded Churchill tanks in Normandy during the Second World War and during Operation Bluecoat in late July 1944. The battalion's second-in-command was killed when his tank was hit in front of his eyes, and he succeeded to this position, holding it, with the rank of Major, throughout the advance through the Netherlands into Germany and until the end of the war. He was awarded the Military Cross for his actions at Caumont. He left the army in 1946 to take care of his family and the estates of Gartshore and Woodhall in Lanarkshire, which he inherited on the death of his grandfather. He entered parliament as the MP for Penrith and the Borders in 1955 and his first government posts were under Harold Macmillan as a Lord of the Treasury (1961-1962) and under Sir Alec Douglas-Home as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour (1963-1964). When the Conservatives returned to power in 1970 under Edward Heath, he was made Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons, with a seat in the cabinet. He became the first Secretary of State for Northern Ireland after the imposition of direct rule in March 1972 and he served in that capacity until November 1973. He left Northern Ireland in 1973 to become Secretary of State for Employment to confront the National Union of Mineworkers over pay demands. The dispute was followed by the Conservative party losing the February 1974 general election. Also in 1974, Whitelaw became a Companion of Honour. After Harold Wilson’s Labour Party returned to government he was appointed Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of the Conservative Party. In 1975, after a second election in 1974, Edward Heath was forced to call a leadership contest. After Margaret Thatcher narrowly beat Edward heath in the first ballot, he stood against Thatcher in the second and lost by 179 votes to 69. He managed to maintain his position as Deputy Leader until the 1979 general election, when he was appointed Home Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister in Thatcher's new government. During the four years that he was Home Secretary he adopted a hard line approach to law and order. He improved police pay and set about building new prisons. Although his ‘short, sharp shock’ policy, whereby convicted young offenders were detained in secure units and subjected to quasi-military discipline, won approval from the public, it proved expensive to implement and largely ineffectual in stemming growing crime rates. He was the British Home Secretary during the 6-day long Iranian Embassy siege in London (30 April 1980 – 5 May 1980). Two days after the 1983 general election he received a hereditary peerage (the first created for 18 years) as Viscount Whitelaw, of Penrith in the County of Cumbria. Thatcher appointed him Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Lords. During his period as Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Lords, Margaret Thatcher relied on him heavily, famously announcing that "every Prime Minister needs a Willie". Margaret Thatcher had cause to be grateful to him for his loyalty on countless occasions, but perhaps most dramatically during the Falklands War. He had the gravest doubts about the despatch of the Task Force, fearing massive loss of life. (He once said that nobody civilised who had once taken part in a war would ever readily countenance another.) But, as a member of the War Cabinet during that conflict, he gave the Prime Minister unflinching support and wise counsel. In 1987 he suffered a stroke and was forced to resign. During his retirement and up until his death he was the chairman of the board of Governors at St Bees School, Cumbria. He was appointed a Knight of the Thistle in 1990.