Sir George Ernest Schuster (25 April 1881 – 5 June 1982) was a British barrister, financier,

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

administrator and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician.

Biography

He was the son of Ernest Schuster, a King's Counsel, and was educated at Charterhouse School and New College, Oxford. He was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1905. In 1908 he married Gwendolen Parker, daughter of Mr Justice Parker, later Baron Parker of Waddington. At the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Schuster was working in finance in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

, and was prospective Liberal parliamentary candidate for Eskdale, North Cumberland. He held a commission in the Oxfordshire Yeomanry, and was mobilised to serve on the Western Front until 1918, when he joined the allied force in the

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') ...

area. He ended the war with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, having been awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

and appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

. He was also decorated with the Russian

Order of St. Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptize ...

. Following the war he took further training in finance at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

, and became a member of the treasury advisory committee of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

. In 1922 he was appointed Financial Secretary to the Government of Sudan. In 1925 he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George. In 1927 he ended his appointment to the government of Sudan, having been appointed as Economic and Financial Advisor to the Secretary of State for the Colonies. In 1928 he succeeded Sir

Basil Phillott Blackett Sir Basil Phillott Blackett (8 January 1882 – 15 August 1935) was a British civil servant and expert on international finance. Biography Blackett was the eldest son of Rev. William Blackett, a missionary and educationalist in India and hi ...

as finance minister of the Council of India. In 1931 he was made a Knight Commander of the Star of India. He served as finance minister until 1929, during which time he was injured during a bomb attack in the

Central Legislative Assembly The Central Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Imperial Legislative Council, the legislature of British India. It was created by the Government of India Act 1919, implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. It was also sometim ...

Bhagat Singh Bhagat Singh (27 September 1907 – 23 March 1931) was a charismatic Indian revolutionary* * who participated in the mistaken murder of a junior British police officer * * in what was to be retaliation for the death of an Indian national ...

and

Batukeshwar Dutt Batukeshwar Dutt (18 November 1910 – 20 July 1965) was an Indian socialist revolutionary and independence fighter in the early 1900s. He is best known for having exploded two bombs, along with Bhagat Singh, in the Central Legislative Assemb ...

. On return to the UK, Schuster resumed his career in banking. In August 1938 the sitting Liberal National

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

, Joseph Leckie, died. The parties forming the National Government agreed on Schuster as their candidate, nominated by the Liberal Nationals and supported by the

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

. Schuster was opposed by

George Jeger George Jeger (19 March 1903 – 6 January 1971) was a British Labour Party politician. He served as the Member of Parliament for Winchester from 1945 to 1950 (which after his term became a safe seat for the Conservatives until they lost it to t ...

of the Labour Party, and foreign policy was the main issue at the

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

. Polling took place on 16 November, and Schuster comfortably held the seat for the government with a majority of 7,158 over Jeger. His Liberal National colleague

Robert Bernays Robert Hamilton Bernays (6 May 1902 – 23 January 1945) was a Liberal Party and later Liberal National politician in the United Kingdom who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1931 to 1945. Early life Bernays was the third son and four ...

, who opened the by-election campaign with a speech in Walsall on 31 October, remarked that " nthree weeks of campaigning the Schusters captured the hearts of the town". He remained a member of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

until 1945, working with Stafford Cripps on war production. At the

1945 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1945. Africa * 1945 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1945 Indian general election Australia * 1945 Fremantle by-election Europe * 1945 Albanian parliamentary election * 1945 Bulgarian ...

he was defeated, with Labour's Major W T Wells taking the seat. Following the loss of his seat, Schuster was given a number of appointments to official bodies: he was chairman of the Cotton Working Party, a member of the committee on industrial productivity, and conducted an inquiry into the finances of

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. In 1951 he became chairman of the Oxford Regional Hospital Board. He also led a highly successful campaign to raise corporate funding for the Public Schools Appointments Board which encouraged young people to enter a wider range of careers than previously. He subsequently chaired the organisation. In 1962 he became honorary treasurer of the international development charity,

Voluntary Service Overseas Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) is a not-for-profit international development organization charity with a vision for "a fair world for everyone" and a mission to "create lasting change through volunteering". VSO delivers development impact throug ...

and was involved in fund-raising for the establishment of the

United World College of the Atlantic Atlantic College (formally the United World College of the Atlantic; alternatively styled UWC Atlantic College, UWCAC, or UWCA) is an independent boarding school in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales. Founded in 1962, it was the first of t ...

, of which he was chairman of the board of governors until 1973. Sir George Schuster died in June 1982, aged 101.

References

External links

* * *
National Portrait Gallery: Sir George Ernest Schuster
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schuster, George 1881 births 1982 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1935–1945 Members of the Council of India Members of Lincoln's Inn Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Military Cross Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of New College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War I National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) politicians Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India English centenarians Men centenarians Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars officers Alumni of the University of Birmingham Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir