Oliver Lyttelton, 1st Viscount Chandos

The Right Honourable The Viscount Chandos KG, PC, DSO, MC
Oliver Lyttelton (right) with Sir Miles Lampson at the British Embassy in Cairo in 1941
President of the Board of Trade
In office 3 October 1940 – 29 June 1941
Monarch	George VI
Prime Minister	Winston Churchill
Preceded by	Andrew Rae Duncan
Succeeded by	Andrew Rae Duncan
In office 25 May 1945 – 26 July 1945
Monarch	George VI
Prime Minister	Winston Churchill
Preceded by	Hugh Dalton
Succeeded by	Hon. Sir Stafford Cripps
Secretary of State for the Colonies
In office 28 October 1951 – 28 July 1954
Monarch	George VI Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Winston Churchill
Preceded by	James Griffiths
Succeeded by	Alan Lennox-Boyd
Personal details
Born	15 March 1893 (1893-03-15) Mayfair, London
Died	21 January 1972 (1972-01-22) (aged 78) Marylebone, London
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Lady Moira Osborne (1892–1976)
Alma mater	Trinity College, Cambridge

Oliver Lyttelton, 1st Viscount Chandos KG, PC, DSO, MC (15 March 1893 – 21 January 1972) was a British businessman who was brought into government during the Second World War, holding a number of ministerial posts.

Background, education and military career

Born in Mayfair, London, Chandos was the son of the Hon. Alfred Lyttelton, younger son of George Lyttelton, 4th Baron Lyttelton. His mother was his father's second wife Edith, daughter of Archibald Balfour. He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. He served in the Grenadier Guards in the First World War, where he met Winston Churchill, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Military Cross.

Business career

Chandos was managing director of British Metal Corporation, at a time when it was a major shareholder in "Metallgesellschaft A.G." a German Industrial giant which financed Hitlers Nazi party. He also served as Chairman of both the London Tin Corporation and Associated Electrical Industries. In 1970 he was made a Knight of the Garter.

Political career

Chandos entered Parliament as Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Aldershot in a wartime by-election in 1940 and was sworn of the Privy Council the same year. He entered Winston Churchill's war coalition as President of the Board of Trade in 1940, a post he held until 1941, and then served as Minister of State in the Middle East from 1941 to 1942 and as Minister of Production from 1942 to 1945. He was again President of the Board of Trade in Churchill's brief 1945 caretaker government. After the Conservatives' 1951 election victory, he became Secretary of State for the Colonies, which he remained until 1954. The latter year he was elevated to the peerage as Viscount Chandos, of Aldershot in the County of Southampton.

Later career

Chandos then returned to Associated Electrical Industries, and steered it to become a major British company. In 1962, Chandos became the first chairman of the National Theatre, serving until 1971. He then served as president until his death. His parents had been active campaigners for its development, and the Lyttelton Theatre, part of the National's South Bank complex, was named after him.

Family

Lord Chandos married Lady Moira, daughter of George Osborne, 10th Duke of Leeds in January 1920. They had three sons and one daughter. He died in Marylebone, London, in January 1972, aged 78, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Antony. Lady Chandos died in May 1976, aged 84.

Family connections

Lord Chandos came from a very influential family:

• He was a descendant of the Grenville family, including such people as:
  • Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham (1675-1749), landscape designer and soldier
  • George Grenville (1712-1770), Prime Minister (1763-1770), grandson of the above by his daughter Hester Grenville, 1st Countess Temple
  • William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville (1757-1834), Home Secretary (1789-1791), Foreign Secretary (1791-1801)
  • George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham (1753-1813), Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary (1783, for three days, simultaneously)
• He was also related to the Spencer family:
  • His great-great-grandfather, George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer (1758-1834), was Home Secretary from 1806-1807.
  • His great-grandmother, Lady Sarah Spencer, was the sister of John Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer (1782-1845) who as Viscount Althorp (his title before succeeding to the peerage) and an MP, was Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons (1830-1834), responsible for the passage of the Great Reform Bill.
• To the Gladstone family:
  • His paternal grandmother, Mary Glynne, later Lady Lyttelton, was the sister of Catherine (1812-1900), wife of William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898), four-times Prime Minister (1868-1874; 1880-1885; 1886; 1892-1894) and prolific Chancellor (1853-1855; 1859-1866; 1873-1874; 1880-1882)
  • Gladstone's son was Herbert Gladstone, 1st Viscount Gladstone, Home Secretary (1905-1910)
• He was a member of the Lyttelton family:
  • His paternal grandfather, George Lyttelton, 4th Baron Lyttelton was a junior minister under Sir Robert Peel.
  • His cousin, Charles Lyttelton, 8th Viscount Cobham, 5th Baron Lyttelton was a junior minister under Neville Chamberlain
  • His father, Alfred Lyttelton (1857-1913), played both world-class cricket and football, and was Colonial Secretary (1902-1905)
  • His first cousin once removed is Humphrey Lyttelton (1921-2008), a jazz trumpeter and radio presenter.

References

• www.thepeerage.com
• Murphy, Philip (January 2008). "Lyttelton, Oliver, first Viscount Chandos (1893–1972)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31385. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/31385. Retrieved 2009-08-08.  Subscription or UK public library membership required

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Oliver Lyttelton

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Viscount Wolmer	Member of Parliament for Aldershot 1940–1954	Succeeded by Eric Errington
Political offices
Preceded by Andrew Rae Duncan	President of the Board of Trade 1940–1941	Succeeded by Andrew Rae Duncan
New office	Minister of State in the Middle East 1941–1942	Succeeded by Richard Casey
Preceded by The Lord Beaverbrook as Minister of War Production	Minister of Production 1942–1945	Office abolished
Preceded by Hugh Dalton	President of the Board of Trade 1945	Succeeded by Hon. Sir Stafford Cripps
Preceded by James Griffiths	Secretary of State for the Colonies 1951–1954	Succeeded by Alan Lennox-Boyd
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Viscount Chandos 1954–1972	Succeeded by Anthony Lyttelton

Persondata
Name	Chandos, Oliver Lyttelton, 1st Viscount
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	15 March 1893
Place of birth	Mayfair, London
Date of death	21 January 1972
Place of death	Marylebone, London