Maurice Victor Macmillan, Viscount Macmillan of Ovenden (27 January 1921 – 10 March 1984), was a British

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician and

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 of ...

. He was the only son of Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, who was

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...

from 1957 to 1963.

Background and education

Macmillan was the only son of Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, and Lady Dorothy Cavendish, daughter of Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

. He served with the Sussex Yeomanry in Europe in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Like his father, he was chairman of

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...

, as well as a director of two news agencies.

Political career

Macmillan contested

Seaham Seaham is a seaside town in County Durham, England. Located on the Durham Coast, Seaham is situated south of Sunderland and east of Durham. The town grew from the late 19th century onwards as a result of investments in its harbour and c ...

at the 1945 election,

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in 1951 and

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

at a 1954 by-election. He served on Kensington Borough Council from 1949 to 1953, then was elected MP for Halifax at the 1955 general election but lost this seat in 1964. He was then elected for Farnham in 1966. This latter seat became

South West Surrey South West Surrey is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Since 2005, the seat has been represented by Conservative MP Jeremy Hunt, the current chancellor of the Exchequer and the former Culture Secretar ...

at the 1983 election. He served as

Economic Secretary to the Treasury The Economic Secretary to the Treasury is the sixth-most senior ministerial post in His Majesty's Treasury, after the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Paymaster-General and the ...

(1963–64) under Alec Douglas-Home, and as

Chief Secretary to the Treasury The chief secretary to the Treasury is a ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom. The office is the second most senior in the Treasury, after the chancellor of the Exchequer. The office was created in 1961, to share the burde ...

(1970–72), Secretary of State for Employment (1972–73) and

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(1973–74) under

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conserv ...

. He was made a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the British monarchy, sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises Politics of the United King ...

in 1972.

Family

Macmillan married the Honourable Katharine Ormsby-Gore, daughter of

William Ormsby-Gore, 4th Baron Harlech William George Arthur Ormsby-Gore, 4th Baron Harlech, (11 April 1885 – 14 February 1964), was a British Conservative politician and banker. Background Harlech, the son of George Ormsby-Gore, 3rd Baron Harlech, and Lady Margaret Gordon, daugh ...

, on 22 August 1942. They had four sons and a daughter: * Alexander Daniel Alan Macmillan, 2nd Earl of Stockton (born 10 October 1943) *Hon. Joshua Edward Andrew Macmillan (1945–1965) *Hon. Adam Julian Robert Macmillan (1948–2016) *Hon. Rachel Mary Georgia Macmillan (1955–1987) *Hon. David Maurice Benjamin Macmillan (born 1957); married English fashion designer Arabella Pollen in 1995 and has issue. Macmillan was for a time the owner of

Highgrove House Highgrove House is the family residence of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. It lies southwest of Tetbury in Gloucestershire, England. Built in the late 18th century, Highgrove and its estate were owned by various families until it was ...

, which he sold to the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

in 1980. Upon his father's elevation to the peerage as

Earl of Stockton Earl of Stockton is a title in the peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 24 February 1984 for Harold Macmillan, the former Conservative prime minister (from 1957 to 1963), less than three years before his death in 1986. At the same ti ...

on 10 February 1984, Macmillan acquired the courtesy title Viscount Macmillan of Ovenden. He held the title for just days, dying in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

, London, on 10 March 1984, following a heart operation. He was 63. His father outlived him by almost three years, dying in December 1986 at the age of 92. Macmillan's son

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

has held the title 2nd Earl of Stockton since the death of the first Earl.

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macmillan, Maurice 1921 births 1984 deaths British Army personnel of World War II Sussex Yeomanry officers Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies British Secretaries of State Children of prime ministers of the United Kingdom Members of Kensington Metropolitan Borough Council British courtesy viscounts Heirs apparent who never acceded Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Eton College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964 Chief Secretaries to the Treasury