Bonar Law

Among those statesmen who reached the peak of British politics in this century, Bonar Law remains the least known. A Canadian-born Glasgow businessman, he entered politics in 1900; within four years he was a member of Balfour’s government, and by 1911 he was the head of the Conservative Party. In the twelve years that followed, he reunited and reorganized the party following three electoral defeats, thus preparing the party for the century of frequent electoral success that lay ahead.

During World War I, Bonar Law put aside party differences to cooperate with the Liberal Lloyd George, becoming virtually co-premier with the ingenious Welshman, whose reputation as “the man who won the war” owes much to their alliance. The cooperation of Conservatives and Liberals prospered until Bonar Law’s retirement in 1921, when tensions between the parties led to the end of the coalition. In 1922, the Conservatives turned again to him, and although his health was poor, he agreed to take the premiership, thereby definitively removing Conservatism from Lloyd George’s shadow.