HEATH, Edward 1916-2005

(Edward Richard George Heath)

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born July 9, 1916, in Broadstairs, Kent, England; died of pneumonia July 17, 2005, in Salisbury, England. Politician and author. Heath was a former leader of England's conservative Tory Party and served as prime minister from 1970 to 1974. A 1939 graduate of Balliol College, Oxford, where he earned a master's degree, he spent the next years as an officer in the British Army during World War II, and this experience would prove highly influential in later life. Heath saw action in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and finally Germany, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. After the war, he joined the civil service and soon won a seat in parliament representing Bexley and Sidcup. One of his chief concerns as a politician was economics, and he believed, long before England fell into economic problems, that his country's future financial health depended on closer ties with Europe. He also felt that such strong economic ties between European nations and Britain would help prevent another world war. A couple of years after being elected, Heath became chief whip, and had the ear of Prime Minister Anthony Eden. During the Suez Canal crisis, he tried to persuade Eden not to take the canal back from the Egyptians. This proved sage advice, since the venture failed when England could not win the support of the United States. When Harold Macmillan rose to the prime minister post, Heath was named minister of labor and, from 1960 to 1963, Lord Privy Seal with Foreign Office responsibilities. He became increasingly vocal in his arguments that the United Kingdom should join the European Economic Community (now the European Union), but he could not convince Parliament that this was an economic necessity, and French President Charles de Gaulle also voted against England being admitted. Macmillan was forced out of office after the "sex-and-spy" scandal, to be succeeded by Harold Wilson. Under Wilson, Heath was secretary of state for industry, trade, and regional development, then for five years served as the Conservative leader of opposition in Parliament. Inflation and unemployment were becoming dire problems in England by the late 1960s, and Heath, a carpenter's son with humble roots, found himself gaining appeal among voters. He became prime minister in 1970 and held the post for four years during troubled times that included serious coal-miner strikes and religious violence in Northern Ireland. His failure to bring the coal strikes to an end, and the scandal of the 1972 "Bloody Sunday" killings of unarmed Catholic protesters in Northern Ireland, contributed to his eventual defeat in 1974. Heath retained his office in the House of Commons, however, refusing to enter the House of Lords, though he had been knighted in 1992. He spent the next sixteen years as a thorn in Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's side, protesting her ultra-conservative policies and her resistance to joining the European Union (EU). Heath, much relieved when Thatcher was forced out of office in 1990, was satisfied when England finally joined the EU. In addition to his long political career, Heath was noted as an accomplished yachtsman who won the 1971 Admiral's Cup, and for his acknowledged musical abilities, which led to his invitation to guest conduct for several symphonies in Europe and the United States; he was also chair of the London Symphony Orchestra Trust from 1963 to 1970. Heath was the author of several books during the 1960s and 1970s, including Keeping the Peace: A New Look at the Role of the United Nations (1968), My Style of Government (1972), and autobiographical writings including Sailing: A Course of My Life (1976) and Travels: People and Places in My Life (1977).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

BOOKS

Heath, Edward, Sailing: A Course of My Life, Sidgwick & Jackson (London, England), 1975.

Heath, Edward, Travels: People and Places in My Life, Sidgwick & Jackson (London, England), 1977.

PERIODICALS

Chicago Tribune, July 18, 2005, section 1, p. 10.

New York Times, July 18, 2005, p. A21.

Times (London, England), July 18, 2005, p. 42.

Washington Post, July 18, 2005, p. B4.