Henry George Strauss, 1st Baron Conesford, QC (24 June 1892 – 28 August 1974) was a British lawyer and a

Conservative 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 ...

politician.

Background and education

He was born at 19 Pembridge Gardens, Kensington, London, on 24 June 1892. He was the only son of Alphonse Henry Strauss, general merchant, and his wife, Hedwig Aschrott. He was educated at

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

and Christ Church, Oxford, and was called to the Bar,

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

, in 1919. He briefly served during

World War I 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 ...

, but was discharged because of health problems and continued working in Whitehall.

Political career

Strauss sat as

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 ...

for

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

between 1935 and 1945, for the Combined English Universities between 1946 and 1950 and for

Norwich South Norwich South is a constituency in Norfolk represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, since 2015 by Clive Lewis, of the Labour Party. History The constituency was created by the Representation of the Peopl ...

between 1950 and 1955. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Attorney General, Sir Donald Somervell, between 1936 and 1942 and a government member as

Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

between March and December 1942 and as

Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Town and Country Planning A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

between 1942 and 1945, when he resigned from the government in protest at

Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

's treatment of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

at the

Yalta Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Cri ...

agreement. He was once again a government member as

Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade in the United Kingdom was a member of Parliament assigned to assist the Board of Trade and its President with administration and liaison with Parliament. It replaced the Vice-President of the Board ...

under Churchill between 1951 and 1955. The latter year he was raised to the peerage as Baron Conesford, of Chelsea in the County of London. In 1946 he published the book ''Trade Unions and the Law'' connected with treatment of Poland by Yalta agreements. From 1964 - 1970 he was the Chairman of the Association of Independent Unionist Peers. He also was the President of the Architectural club. Lord Conesford became a King's Counsel in 1964 and a Bencher of the Inner Temple in 1969. He was also a member of the governors of

Norwich High School for Girls Norwich High School for Girls is an independent day school for girls aged 3 to 18 in Norwich, England. The school was founded in 1875 by the Girls’ Public Day School Company (now the Girls' Day School Trust), which aimed to establish schools ...

and a vice-president of the

Girls' Day School Trust The Girls' Day School Trust (GDST) is a group of 25 independent schools, including two academies, in England and Wales, catering for girls aged 3 to 18. It is the largest group of independent schools in the UK, and educates 20,000 girls each ye ...

. He was well known for his speeches in which he complained about the improper usages of the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

, especially in the United States, as can be seen in a ''Time'' magazine article from 1957.Time (magazine)
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Personal life

Lord Conesford married Anne Sadelbia Mary, daughter of

Bowyer Nichols John Bowyer Buchanan Nichols (13 November 1859 – 2 June 1939), known as Bowyer Nichols, was an English poet and artist. Nichols was the son of Francis Morgan Nichols, an editor and writer, and was paternally descended from the printer and wri ...

, in 1927. He died in August 1974, aged 82, when the barony became extinct.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conesford, Henry Strauss, 1st Baron Strauss, Henry George Strauss, Henry George Strauss, Henry George English barristers Jewish British politicians Strauss, Henry Ministers in the Churchill wartime government, 1940–1945 Parliamentary Secretaries to the Board of Trade Politicians from London Presidents of the Girls' Day School Trust Strauss, Henry G Strauss, Henry G Strauss, Henry G Strauss, Henry G UK MPs who were granted peerages Ministers in the third Churchill government, 1951–1955 20th-century English lawyers Hereditary barons created by Elizabeth II