(b. London, 6 July 1863; d. 6 Sept. 1943) British; Chancellor of the Exchequer 1915 – 16 The son of a civil servant, McKenna was educated at King's College School, London, and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, before becoming a barrister. He entered the Commons in 1895. After a year as a junior Treasury minister in the Liberal government formed by Henry Campbell-Bannerman in 1905, he spent the following nine years in four separate Cabinet posts: president of the Board of Education (1907 – 8); First Lord of the Admiralty (1908 – 11); Home Secretary (1911 – 15); and Chancellor of the Exchequer (1915 – 16).
McKenna's ministerial career was often controversial. At the Admiralty, he was at the heart of Cabinet disputes over the seriousness of the threat presented by the growth of the German navy: in 1909 resistance to his demands for many more capital ships led him to threaten resignation. At the Home Office, he had to steer through legislation to disestablish the Welsh church, passage of which was achieved only by invoking the Parliament Act to overcome opposition in the Lords. But the greatest controversy arose over his Prisons (Temporary Discharge for Ill-Health) Act, 1913. This unpopular ("Cat and Mouse") legislation permitted hunger-striking convicted suffragettes to be repeatedly released temporarily and then reimprisoned. McKenna's chancellorship included the immensely difficult problems created by the massive military expenditure necessitated by the war.
When H. H. Asquith's government collapsed in December 1916 McKenna declined to serve under David Lloyd George and never again held ministerial office. He was approached to become Chancellor of the Exchequer again in 1922, but no suitable parliamentary seat could be found for him (he had been defeated in 1918). He spent the remainder of his working life as chairman of the Midland Bank.
Reginald McKenna
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The Right Honourable
Reginald McKenna |
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| In office 24 October 1911 – 27 May 1915 |
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| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | H. H. Asquith |
| Preceded by | Winston Churchill |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Bonar Law |
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| In office 25 May 1915 – 10 December 1916 |
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| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | H. H. Asquith |
| Preceded by | David Lloyd George |
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| Born | 6 July 1863 |
| Died | 6 September 1943 London |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse | Pamela Jekyll (d. 1943) |
| Alma mater | Trinity Hall, Cambridge |
Reginald McKenna (6 July 1863–6 September 1943) was a British banker and Liberal. He notably served as Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer during the premiership of H. H. Asquith.
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Background and education
McKenna was the son of William Columban McKenna and his wife Emma, daughter of Charles Hanby. Sir Joseph Neale McKenna was his uncle. He was educated at King's College School and Trinity Hall, Cambridge.[1]
Political career
Elected at the 1895 general election as Member of Parliament (MP) for North Monmouthshire, he served in the Liberal governments of Henry Campbell-Bannerman and Herbert Henry Asquith as President of the Board of Education, First Lord of the Admiralty and Home Secretary. As Chancellor of the Exchequer in Asquith's coalition government, he opposed the introduction of conscription, and retired into opposition upon the fall of Asquith at the end of 1916. He lost his seat in the 1918 general election and became Chairman of the Midland Bank. In 1922, the new Prime Minister Andrew Bonar Law hoped to persuade him to come out of retirement and serve once again at the Exchequer, but he refused, and remained in private life. The following year Law's successor Stanley Baldwin made the repeated request and McKenna was more agreeable. However he wished to enter Parliament as MP for the City of London and neither of the incumbent MPs would agree to vacate in order to make room. As a result McKenna declined.
It is said that he refused offers of a peerage throughout the rest of his life so as to always be in a position to be offered the Exchequer so he could refuse.
Family
McKenna was married in 1908 to Pamela Jekyll (who d. November 1943), younger daughter of Sir Herbert Jekyll, KCMG (brother of landscape gardener Gertrude Jekyll) and his wife Lady Agnes Jekyll, née Graham.[2] They had two sons - Michael (died 1931) and David, who married Lady Cecilia Elizabeth Keppel (born 12 April 1910), a daughter of the the 9th Earl of Albemarle in 1934, and had issue.[3]
Reginald McKenna died in London on 6 September 1943 and was buried at Mells, Somerset (the home of his old friend Sir John Horner). His wife died two months later, and is buried beside him. McKenna was a regular client of Sir Edwin Lutyens who designed the Midland Bank headquarters in Poultry, London, several branches and several homes for McKenna, as well as his grave.
Notes
- ^ McKenna, Reginald in Venn, J. & J. A., Alumni Cantabrigienses, Cambridge University Press, 10 vols, 1922–1958.
- ^ Details of the Jekyll family and BBC: Making History: Sir Herbert Jekyll. Retrieved 4 December 2007. Sir Herbert's elder daughter Barbara married as her 2nd husband, Field Marshal Lord Freyberg; her grandson holds the peerage today.
- ^ Darryl Landy, The Peerage database, retrieved 4 December 2007.
References
- Martin Farr, Reginald McKenna 1863-1916: Financier Among Statesmen, New York: Routledge, 2007.
- Janus: The Papers of Reginald McKenna includes a short biography. Retrieved 4 December 2007.
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page
- www.thepeerage.com
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas Phillips Price |
Member of Parliament for North Monmouthshire 1895–1918 |
Succeeded by constituency abolished |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Augustine Birrell |
President of the Board of Education 1907–1908 |
Succeeded by Walter Runciman |
| Preceded by The Lord Tweedmouth |
First Lord of the Admiralty 1908–1911 |
Succeeded by Winston Churchill |
| Preceded by Winston Churchill |
Home Secretary 1911–1915 |
Succeeded by Sir John Simon |
| Preceded by David Lloyd George |
Chancellor of the Exchequer 1915–1916 |
Succeeded by Andrew Bonar Law |
| Awards and achievements | ||
| Preceded by Bernard M. Baruch |
Cover of Time Magazine 3 March 1924 |
Succeeded by Warren S. Stone |
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 | Political Biography. A Dictionary of Political Biography. Copyright © 1998, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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Mentioned in
- North Monmouthshire (UK Parliament constituency)
- George Chrystal (civil servant)
- Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth
- McKenna
- Thomas Phillips Price
- First Asquith ministry
- 1909 (chronology)
- 1943 (chronology)
- Robert Reid, 1st Earl Loreburn
- Liberal Government 1905–1915
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