(Andrew) Bonar Law

For more information on Andrew Bonar Law, visit Britannica.com.

(b. New Brunswick, Canada, 16 Sept. 1858; d. 30 Oct. 1923) Canadian; leader of Conservative Party in the House of Commons 1911 – 21, Chancellor of Exchequer 1916 – 19, Prime Minister 1922 – 23 The son of an Ulster-born Presbyterian minister, Law was educated in New Brunswick and then, after moving with an aunt to Scotland, at Glasgow High School. He made his money as an iron merchant in Glasgow before entering the House of Commons in 1900 as Conservative MP for Glasgow Blackfriars. His business knowledge was used to good effect in his speeches and within eighteen months he was appointed parliamentary secretary to the Board of Trade, serving until the resignation of Balfour's government in 1905. An effective speaker, addressing meetings without notes, he was a vigorous advocate of tariff reform and became a leading figure in the parliamentary party in Opposition. In 1911, he merged as a compromise candidate for the party leadership in the House of Commons when it looked as if the party might have to vote to choose between Austen Chamberlain and Walter Long. As party leader, Bonar Law led the party in resisting the Home Rule Bill for Ireland, announcing virtually unconditional support for Ulster Protestant resistance to Home Rule. After the outbreak of war, he joined Asquith's coalition as Secretary of State for the Colonies. The following year, with Lloyd George, he engineered Asquith's resignation, resulting in a Conservative-dominated coalition with Law as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Law and Lloyd George worked closely together, almost as joint Prime Ministers, meeting together every morning in Law's office. Law also served as Leader of the House, often spending long hours in the House and making sure he knew its temper. In 1919, he gave up the burden of being Chancellor, taking the title of Lord Privy Seal, but remaining leader of the House and, in effect, Deputy Prime Minister. In 1921, feeling unwell and after consulting his doctor, he resigned from government.

Out of government, Law began to worry about the direction the government was taking and sent out warning signals, including a letter to The Times. When a meeting of Conservative MPs was called in October 1922 to discuss the future of the coalition, he decided to attend. His short speech against continuing the coalition sealed its fate. Lloyd George resigned and Law was summoned by the King to form a government. With many of the leading figures in the party unwilling to serve, he formed a Cabinet derided by Winston Churchill as the "second eleven". Law served for only seven months in the office. Gravely ill (he had cancer of the throat, though he was never told this), he resigned on 20 May 1923. He had been Prime Minister for 209 days. He died five months later.

Law had an unusual background for a leader of the Conservative Party. He was a powerful figure whose life was marked by tragedy (his wife died in 1909 and his two eldest sons were killed in the war), leaving him prone to the dark melancholy that afflicted his father. Popular with MPs, he left little mark beyond his period of office, Robert Blacked entitling his biography of him The Unknown Prime Minister.

Law, Andrew Bonar (1858-1923). Prime minister. Described on his death as the ‘Unknown Prime Minister’, Bonar Law was a modest and melancholy figure, who appeared content to remain as second in command to Lloyd George from 1916 to 1921.

Law's Ulster-Scottish parentage and stern presbyterian upbringing reinforced his rather dour personality. He joined the family ironmasters' business in Glasgow and worked for the Clydesdale Bank. This meant that as an MP from 1900 onwards he possessed—unusually—a personal understanding of business. His excellent memory and aggressive style soon made him a useful orator at a time when tariff reform was becoming central to the party's policy.

But Law did not appear to be heading for the top until, after Balfour's enforced resignation in 1911, the Tory Party split evenly between Walter Long and Austen Chamberlain. Energetically promoted by Max Aitken (Beaverbrook), Law emerged as a compromise candidate. However, he had almost no experience of government, enjoyed few powers of patronage, and led a party subject to bitter divisions over tariffs. As a result he encouraged his own extremists to pursue their attack on Irish Home Rule in the belief that this was best calculated to restore party unity.

While the outbreak of war in August 1914 resolved one dilemma, it created another. In May 1915 he reached a private agreement with Asquith to join a coalition. Remarkably Law failed to insist on a major position for himself and accepted the Colonial Office. When Asquith resigned in December 1916, Law had an opportunity to seize the premiership. Instead he served under Lloyd George as chancellor and member of the war cabinet. A remarkable period of co-operation ensued, and as leader of the House he played a vital role in keeping the coalition majority intact.

In 1918 Law judged that the Conservatives' best interests lay in keeping the coalition in being and fighting the election under Lloyd George's leadership. Eventually ill-health forced him to retire in March 1921. However, by this time many Conservatives were restless, and at a meeting in October 1922 they voted to sever relations with Lloyd George. Law indicated his willingness to return as party leader. As a result he succeeded at last to the premiership and won an immediate general election. Though obliged by poor health to withdraw after a few months, he had the satisfaction of having guided his party through a dangerous period, detaching it from Lloyd George before it suffered serious damage.