A politician who never tried to be liked

A politician who never tried to be liked

LONDON – Sir Edward Heath, the prime minister who led Britain into what is now the European Union but lost the Conservative Party leadership to Margaret Thatcher, died on Sunday aged 89.

A carpenter’s son who broke the tradition of blue bloods leading the Conservative Party, he was a born politician whose major achievement was to negotiate Britain’s 1973 entry into the European Community. The entry overturned years of resistance both domestically and by France, which had vetoed Britain’s entry in 1967.Prime Minister Tony Blair paid a glowing tribute to Heath in an address to the House of Commons on Monday.”He may have been prime minister for less than four years, but few holders of this office have made such a lasting difference to this country, its direction and its place in the world,” Blair said.Heath was “an extraordinary man, a great statesman, a prime minister our country can be proud of.We shall miss him,” Blair added.Heath came to power in 1970 pledging to end Britain’s long cycle of post-World War II decline, but he was thwarted and, in the end, brought down by militant unions.In 1974, with Britain reduced to a three-day week by striking coal miners, Heath called an election demanding “who governs?” in a challenge to the unions.He lost to Harold Wilson’s Labour Party and lost again when Wilson called an election in October that year.In all, Heath had taken the Conservatives to defeat by Labour three times since becoming leader of the party in 1965.The Tories rebelled and in February 1975 another outsider, the grocer’s daughter Margaret Thatcher, successfully challenged him for the party leadership.Despite Thatcher’s move to oust him from leading their party, on Sunday she called him a “political giant”, “the first modern Conservative leader” and added “we are all in his debt”.Current Tory leader Michael Howard recalled the World War II veteran as a man who always looked to serve his country with pride.”He will always be remembered as a prime minister who took Britain into the European Economic Community but his achievements went far beyond that,” said Howard, who in May tried to unseat Blair, who leads the Labour Party.Heath remained in the House of Commons as a rank-and file legislator, a bulky, unforgiving figure sniping ineffectively at his right-wing successor.During Thatcher’s 15 years as party leader, his name disappeared from the Conservatives’ official folklore.The 1987 election manifesto, for example, described the history of Conservative policy toward Europe without mentioning Heath.Edward Richard George Heath was born in Broadstairs, a harbour town in the southeast England county of Kent, on July 9 1916, the elder of two sons.Encouraged by his mother, Heath began piano lessons as a small boy.It became a lifetime interest.From his state school, Heath won a scholarship to Oxford University.Like Thatcher, he emerged from Oxford with an upper-class accent.After World War II service as an artillery officer, Heath worked briefly as a civil servant and then as an editor of the Anglican Church Times.He was elected to the House of Commons for Bexley and Sidcup in 1950, and represented the solidly Conservative south England district through his long political career.To the end, Heath remained an unusual politician in that he never tried to be liked.Awkward silences would fall during interviews with journalists.In the Thatcher era, he would often sit staring glumly ahead during party conventions.”He did not suffer fools gladly,” said former Cabinet minister Lord Heseltine.”But if you were entertained by him at his home in Salisbury, he was a very different man.”Both as prime minister and leader of the opposition he conducted symphony orchestras.He had two Steinway pianos in his house, Arundells, in the south England cathedral city of Salisbury, and another in his apartment in London’s Belgravia district.His 1976 book, ‘Music, A Joy For Life’, was a best seller.So was one he wrote on yachting after taking his yacht Morning Cloud to victory in Australia in the Sydney to Hobart race.Stripped of power, he was sensitive to suggestions that his life was lonely or empty.”I enjoy my own company,” he said, looking back in a 1989 newspaper interview, “I don’t think I ever regret not getting married.A lot of politicians seem to regret they’ve got wives.”In 1992, he became Sir Edward, a member of the country’s most prestigious order of chivalry, the knights of the Garter.- Nampa-APThe entry overturned years of resistance both domestically and by France, which had vetoed Britain’s entry in 1967.Prime Minister Tony Blair paid a glowing tribute to Heath in an address to the House of Commons on Monday.”He may have been prime minister for less than four years, but few holders of this office have made such a lasting difference to this country, its direction and its place in the world,” Blair said.Heath was “an extraordinary man, a great statesman, a prime minister our country can be proud of.We shall miss him,” Blair added.Heath came to power in 1970 pledging to end Britain’s long cycle of post-World War II decline, but he was thwarted and, in the end, brought down by militant unions.In 1974, with Britain reduced to a three-day week by striking coal miners, Heath called an election demanding “who governs?” in a challenge to the unions.He lost to Harold Wilson’s Labour Party and lost again when Wilson called an election in October that year.In all, Heath had taken the Conservatives to defeat by Labour three times since becoming leader of the party in 1965.The Tories rebelled and in February 1975 another outsider, the grocer’s daughter Margaret Thatcher, successfully challenged him for the party leadership.Despite Thatcher’s move to oust him from leading their party, on Sunday she called him a “political giant”, “the first modern Conservative leader” and added “we are all in his debt”.Current Tory leader Michael Howard recalled the World War II veteran as a man who always looked to serve his country with pride.”He will always be remembered as a prime minister who took Britain into the European Economic Community but his achievements went far beyond that,” said Howard, who in May tried to unseat Blair, who leads the Labour Party.Heath remained in the House of Commons as a rank-and file legislator, a bulky, unforgiving figure sniping ineffectively at his right-wing successor.During Thatcher’s 15 years as party leader, his name disappeared from the Conservatives’ official folklore.The 1987 election manifesto, for example, described the history of Conservative policy toward Europe without mentioning Heath.Edward Richard George Heath was born in Broadstairs, a harbour town in the southeast England county of Kent, on July 9 1916, the elder of two sons.Encouraged by his mother, Heath began piano lessons as a small boy.It became a lifetime interest.From his state school, Heath won a scholarship to Oxford University.Like Thatcher, he emerged from Oxford with an upper-class accent.After World War II service as an artillery officer, Heath worked briefly as a civil servant and then as an editor of the Anglican Church Times.He was elected to the House of Commons for Bexley and Sidcup in 1950, and represented the solidly Conservative south England district through his long political career.To the end, Heath remained an unusual politician in that he never tried to be liked.Awkward silences would fall during interviews with journalists.In the Thatcher era, he would often sit staring glumly ahead during party conventions.”He did not suffer fools gladly,” said former Cabinet minister Lord Heseltine.”But if you were entertained by him at his home in Salisbury, he was a very different man.”Both as prime minister and leader of the opposition he conducted symphony orchestras.He had two Steinway pianos in his house, Arundells, in the south England cathedral city of Salisbury, and another in his apartment in London’s Belgravia district.His 1976 book, ‘Music, A Joy For Life’, was a best seller.So was one he wrote on yachting after taking his yacht Morning Cloud to victory in Australia in the Sydney to Hobart race.Stripped of p
ower, he was sensitive to suggestions that his life was lonely or empty.”I enjoy my own company,” he said, looking back in a 1989 newspaper interview, “I don’t think I ever regret not getting married.A lot of politicians seem to regret they’ve got wives.”In 1992, he became Sir Edward, a member of the country’s most prestigious order of chivalry, the knights of the Garter.- Nampa-AP

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