Winston Churchill (1874–1965)

Beginning in 1900, Winston Churchill was a member of the British House of Commons, initially for the Conservatives and later for the Liberal Party. He held many government offices: among others, 1908–1910 President of the Board of Trade, 1910–1911 Home Secretary, 1911–1915 First Lord of Admiralty, 1919–1921 Secretary of State for War and Secretary of State for Air, 1924–1929 Chancellor of the Exchequer. Due to his position on the question of India, he became increasingly isolated in the 1930s and his demand for a more resolute opposition to National Socialist Germany went unheeded. Only after the outbreak of World War II did he regain his popularity. In 1939, he was again appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. As Prime minister (1940–1945), he symbolized Britain's spirit of resistance. With Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) and Josef Stalin (1879–1953) he laid the corner stone for the European postwar order. In his second term as Prime Minister (1951–1955) he tried to reduce the tensions of the East-West Conflict.

Winston Churchill (1874–1965), black-and-white photograph, 1943, photographer unknown; source: © Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, Photos of World War II, http://docs.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/images/photodb/23-0201a.gif.