Christopher Soames

The Right Honourable
The Lord Soames
GCMG GCVO CH CBE PC
The Right Honourable The Lord Soames GCMG GCVO CH CBE PC
	Soames in 1966
Governor of Southern Rhodesia
	In office; 11 December 1979 – 18 April 1980
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	Humphrey Gibbs (1969); Josiah Zion Gumede;
Succeeded by	Canaan Banana
Vice-President of the European Commission
	In office; 6 January 1973 – 5 January 1977
President	François-Xavier Ortoli
European Commissioner for External Relations
	In office; 6 January 1973 – 5 January 1977
President	François-Xavier Ortoli
Preceded by	Jean-François Deniau
Succeeded by	Wilhelm Haferkamp
Her Majesty's Ambassador to France
	In office; September 1968 – 27 October 1972
Preceded by	Patrick Reilly
Succeeded by	Edward Tomkins
Prime Minister
Ministerial offices
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council
	In office; 5 May 1979 – 14 September 1981
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	The Lord Peart (Lords); Michael Foot (Council);
Succeeded by	The Baroness Young (Lords); Francis Pym (Council);
Shadow Foreign Secretary
	In office; 11 November 1965 – 13 April 1966
Leader	Edward Heath
Preceded by	Reginald Maudling
Succeeded by	Alec Douglas-Home
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
	In office; 27 July 1960 – 16 October 1964
Prime Minister	Harold Macmillan; Alec Douglas-Home;
Preceded by	John Hare
Succeeded by	Fred Peart
Secretary of State for War
	In office; 6 January 1958 – 27 July 1960
Prime Minister	Harold Macmillan
Preceded by	John Hare
Succeeded by	John Profumo
Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty
	In office; 9 January 1957 – 6 January 1958
Prime Minister	Harold Macmillan
Preceded by	George Ward
Succeeded by	Robert Allan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Air
	In office; 6 April 1955 – 9 January 1957
Prime Minister	Anthony Eden
Preceded by	George Ward
Succeeded by	Ian Orr-Ewing
Preceded by
Parliamentary offices
Member of the House of Lords
	Lord Temporal
	Life peerage; 19 April 1978 – 16 September 1987
Member of Parliament; for Bedford
	In office; 23 February 1950 – 10 March 1966
Preceded by	Thomas Skeffington-Lodge
Succeeded by	Brian Parkyn
Personal details
Born	Arthur Christopher John Soames; 12 October 1920; Penn, Buckinghamshire, England
Died	16 September 1987 (aged 66); Odiham, Hampshire, England
Resting place	St Martin's Church, Bladon
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Mary Churchill (m. 1947)
Children	5, including Nicholas, Emma and Rupert
Parent	Arthur Granville Soames (father)
Relatives	Winston Churchill (father‑in‑law)
Education	Eton College
Alma mater	Royal Military College, Sandhurst
	n.b.1 ^ as President of Zimbabwe Rhodesia; n.b.2 ^ as President of Zimbabwe;

Arthur Christopher John Soames, Baron Soames, GCMG, GCVO, CH, CBE, PC (12 October 1920 – 16 September 1987) was a British Conservative politician who served as a European Commissioner and the last Governor of Southern Rhodesia. He was previously Member of Parliament (MP) for Bedford from 1950 to 1966. He held several government posts and attained Cabinet rank.

Quick Facts Governor of Southern Rhodesia, Monarch ...

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[nb 2]

Christopher Soames

British politician (1920–1987) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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