Cuthbert James McCall Alport, Baron Alport, (22 March 1912 – 28 October 1998), was a Conservative Party

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, minister, and

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

Early life

"Cub" Alport was educated at Haileybury College, Haileybury,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and graduated with a degree in History and Law from

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...

in 1934. He was elected President of the

Cambridge Union The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a historic debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. The society was founded in 1815 making it the oldest ...

the following year. Alport was a

tutor Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...

at Ashridge College, Little Gaddesden, Hertfordshire, from 1935 to 1937. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

as an officer in the

Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers () was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales's Division, that was founded in 1689, shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designated a fusilier regiment and becam ...

and the King's African Rifles, and was General Staff Officer 1 (GSO 1) of the East Africa Command between 1944 and 1945. He was made a Barrister-at-Law at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1944.

Political career

Alport was an assistant secretary for the Conservative Party Education Department between 1937 and 1939. He was Director of the Conservative Political Centre between 1945 and 1950. He was elected as the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Member of Parliament for the Colchester constituency, in the 1950 general election and held the seat until 16 February 1961, when he was created Baron Alport, of

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

in the County of Essex, a

life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

. On his elevation to the peerage, the Colchester constituency was held by the Conservatives in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

by Antony Buck. Alport held the post of

Assistant Postmaster-General The Assistant Postmaster General is a defunct junior ministerial position in the United Kingdom Government. The title of Postmaster General of the United Kingdom, Postmaster General was abolished under the Post Office Act 1969. A new public authori ...

between 1955 and 1957. He was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations between 1957 and 1959. He held the office of

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

for the Commonwealth Relations Office between 1959 and 1961. He was invested as a Privy Councillor in 1960. He held the office of British High commissioner to the

Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation (CAF), was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the Self-governing colony, self-governing British colony of Southern ...

between 1961 and 1963. During Alport's tenure as high commissioner, he came under suspicion from the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

over his questionable actions before and after the plane crash that killed

UN Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

Dag Hammarskjöld. Alport was present at Ndola Airport when Hammarskjöld's plane was supposed to land and when it did not, he inexplicably closed the airport, later testifying that the plane must have 'gone elsewhere'. When the crash was discovered, Hammarskjöld's CX-52 Hagelin cipher was confiscated by the Northern Rhodesian authorities and Alport refused to return it to the UN. Aside from this, a second CX-52 was reported to have been found by looters who reached the crash early. These looters, three local charcoal burners, who testified that the crash happened at night and reported hearing and seeing an explosion in the sky, going against the official story of the crash happening later the next day, were suspected to have been mistreated by Northern Rhodesian authorities and it is suspected that the looted CX-52 never existed and was invented to discredit the men. Alport's behavior was scrutinized further in 2015 after a new investigation, led by Mohamed Chande Othman, said that his actions suggest 'that he had a reason to seek to refuse to return United Nations property, including Hammarskjöld's CX-52, to the United Nations, although this was eventually done'. After returning to England, he was appointed High Steward of Colchester in 1967 and he was appointed deputy lieutenant of

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

in 1974.

Family life

In 1945 he married Rachel, the great granddaughter of George Bingham, 4th Earl of Lucan. The marriage produced three children, two girls and one boy.

Published works

* ''Kingdoms in Partnership'' (1937) * ''Hope in Africa'' (1952) * ''The Sudden Assignment'' (1965)

Honorary degree

Lord Alport was awarded an honorary doctorate by the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

in July 1997.

The Alport Papers

Lord Alport's correspondence and papers (the Alport Papers) are archived at the

library. Additional correspondence with Roy Welensky is archived at the Bodleian Library of Commonwealth and African Studies at Rhodes House,

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

Arms

References

* Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alport, Cuthbert Baron Alport 1912 births 1998 deaths Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Artists' Rifles soldiers Borough of Colchester British Army personnel of World War II Colchester Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) life peers Deputy lieutenants of Essex King's African Rifles officers Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Eden government, 1955–1957 Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964 People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College Presidents of the Cambridge Union Royal Welch Fusiliers officers UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs who were granted peerages Life peers created by Elizabeth II