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The Right Honourable Donald Maclean KBE, PC
Donald Maclean, circa 1905.
Leader of the Opposition
In office December 1918 – 12 February 1920
Monarch	George V
Prime Minister	David Lloyd George
Preceded by	Herbert Henry Asquith
Succeeded by	Herbert Henry Asquith
President of the Board of Education
In office 25 August 1931 – 15 June 1932
Prime Minister	Ramsay MacDonald
Preceded by	Hastings Lees-Smith
Succeeded by	The Lord Irwin
Personal details
Born	Donald Charles Hugh Maclean 9 January 1864 (1864-01-09) Farnworth, Bolton, Lancashire
Died	15 June 1932(1932-06-15) (aged 68) London
Nationality	British
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Gwendoline Katherina Leonora Hope

Sir Donald Charles Hugh Maclean, KBE, PC (9 January 1864 – 15 June 1932), was a British Liberal politician. He was Leader of the Opposition between 1918 and 1920 and served in Ramsay MacDonald's National Government as President of the Board of Education between 1931 and his death in June of the following year.

1 Background
2 Political career
3 Family
4 References
5 Sources
6 External links

Background [edit]

Born in Farnworth, Bolton, Lancashire, Maclean was the eldest son of John Maclean, a cordwainer originally of Kilmoluaig, Tiree in the Inner Hebrides, and his wife Agnes Macmellin.^{[citation needed]}

Political career [edit]

Maclean practised as a solicitor with practices in Cardiff and Lincoln's Inn Fields, London. A member of the Presbyterian Church of England, he was vice-president of the Cardiff Free Church Council in 1902-3, and also worked closely with the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. He was a last-minute choice as one of the Liberal Party candidates in Bath at the 1900 general election, but was defeated at the polls.^[1] At the 1906 general election, he stood again and was elected as a Liberal Member of Parliament for the constituency.^[2]

He lost his seat at the January 1910 general election, but moved constituency at the December 1910 general election and was returned for Peebles and Selkirk,^[3] a seat he held until 1918,^[4] and then represented Peebles and South Midlothian between 1918 and 1922^[4] and the Northern Division of Cornwall between 1929 and 1932.^[5]

Maclean was knighted^{[citation needed]} and appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1916,^[6] and was Leader of the Liberal Parliamentary Party from 1918 to 1922, as the nominal leader of the Liberal Party, Herbert Henry Asquith had lost his seat in the House of Commons. For two years he also served as Leader of the Opposition, while Labour had no official leader and Sinn Féin refused to participate in parliamentary government.^[7]

Towards the end of his life, Maclean joined the National Government headed by Ramsay MacDonald. He served as President of the Board of Education from 1931 to 1932, when he died from cardiovascular disease at the age of sixty-eight.

Family [edit]

Maclean married Gwendolen Margaret Devitt (26 September 1880 – 23 July 1962) daughter of Andrew Devitt (1850–1931) and wife Jane Dales Morrison (1856–1947), on 26 October 1907. They and their eldest son, Ian, are buried in the churchyard of Holy Trinity Church, Penn, Buckinghamshire. Another of his sons was the diplomat and spy, Donald Duart Maclean.

References [edit]

History of the Liberal Party 1895–1970, by Roy Douglas (Sidgwick & Jackson 1971)
Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume III 1919–1945, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1979)

^ "The Popular Guide to the House of Commons" (Pall Mall Gazette "Extra"), February 1906, p. 48.
^ leighrayment.com House of Commons: Baillieston to Beckenham
^ "The Popular Guide to the House of Commons" (Pall Mall Gazette "Extra"), January 1911, p. 136.
^ ^a ^b leighrayment.com House of Commons: Paddington to Platting
^ leighrayment.com House of Commons: Cornwall to Cynon Valley
^ The London Gazette: no. 29454. p. 1117. 28 January 1916.
^ Douglas in The History of the Liberal Party 1895–1970 observes that "The technical question whether the Leader of the Opposition was Maclean or William Adamson, Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party, was never fully resolved ... The fact that Adamson did not press his claim for Opposition leadership is of more than technical interest, for it shows that the Labour Party was still not taking itself seriously as a likely alternative government"

Sources [edit]

External links [edit]

Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Donald Maclean
Biography at liberalhistory.org.uk

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Edmond Wodehouse Sir Wyndham Murray	Member of Parliament for Bath 1906–January 1910 With: George Peabody Gooch	Succeeded by Lord Alexander Thynne Sir Charles Hunter, Bt
Preceded by William Younger	Member of Parliament for Peebles and Selkirk December 1910–1918	Constituency renamed Peebles and Southern Midlothian
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Peebles and Southern Midlothian 1918–1922	Succeeded by Joseph Westwood
Preceded by Alfred Martyn Williams	Member of Parliament for North Cornwall 1929–1932	Succeeded by Sir Francis Dyke Acland, Bt
Political offices
Preceded by Herbert Henry Asquith	Leader of the Opposition 1918–1920	Succeeded by Herbert Henry Asquith
Preceded by Hastings Lees-Smith	President of the Board of Education 1931–1932	Succeeded by The Lord Irwin
Party political offices
Preceded by Herbert Henry Asquith	Chairman of the Scottish Liberal Federation c.1924–1928	Succeeded by John Anthony
Preceded by John Mackinnon Robertson	President of the National Liberal Federation 1923–1926	Succeeded by John Alfred Spender

v t e Leaders of the Liberal Party

House of Lords (1859–1916)	The Earl Granville The Earl Russell The Earl Granville The Earl of Kimberley The Earl of Rosebery The Earl of Kimberley The Marquess of Ripon The Marquess of Crewe

House of Commons (1859–1916)	The Viscount Palmerston William Ewart Gladstone Marquess of Hartington William Ewart Gladstone Sir William Harcourt Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman H.H. Asquith

Overall Leader (1916–1988)	H. H. Asquith Sir Donald Maclean (Acting Leader) David Lloyd George Sir Herbert Samuel Sir Archibald Sinclair Clement Davies Jo Grimond Jeremy Thorpe Jo Grimond David Steel

In 1988, the Party merged with the Social Democratic Party to form the Liberal Democrats. For their leaders, click here.

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Donald Maclean (British politician)

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