Enoch Powell

The Right Honourable Enoch Powell MBE
Portrait taken by Allan Warren
Minister of Health
In office 27 July 1960 – 18 October 1963
Prime Minister	Harold Macmillan
Preceded by	Derek Walker-Smith
Succeeded by	Anthony Barber
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
In office 1957–1958
Prime Minister	Harold Macmillan
Preceded by	Henry Brooke
Succeeded by	Jack Simon
Shadow Defence Secretary
In office July 1965 – 21 April 1968
Leader	Edward Heath
Preceded by	Peter Thorneycroft
Succeeded by	Reginald Maudling
Member of Parliament for South Down
In office 10 October 1974 – 11 June 1987
Preceded by	Lawrence Orr
Succeeded by	Eddie McGrady
Member of Parliament for Wolverhampton South West
In office 23 February 1950 – 28 February 1974
Preceded by	Constituency Created
Succeeded by	Nicholas Budgen
Personal details
Born	John Enoch Powell (1912-06-16)June 16, 1912 Birmingham, England
Died	February 8, 1998(1998-02-08) (aged 85) London, England
Nationality	British (but registered as an Australian (then under common citizenship) when he joined the Army)
Political party	Conservative (1950–74) Ulster Unionist (1974–87)
Spouse(s)	Pamela Wilson (m. 1952–98, his death)
Children	2 daughters
Alma mater	Trinity College, Cambridge SOAS
Occupation	Member of Parliament 1950–87 Conservative Research Department 1945–50 Professor of Greek at Sydney University 1937–39
Profession	Politician, Classical scholar, Poet, published works 1937, 1939, 1951.
Awards	British War Medal Africa Star Military OBE
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	British Army • Royal Warwickshire Regiment • General Service Corps • Intelligence Corps
Years of service	1939–45
Rank	• Private in 1939 • Brigadier by 1945
Battles/wars	World War II • North African Campaign • India

John Enoch Powell, MBE (16 June 1912 – 8 February 1998) was a British politician in the Conservative Party.

Early life

Powell was born on June 16, 1912 in Birmingham, England and raised there. He studied at Trinity College, Cambridge and at School of Oriental and African Studies.

Before becoming a politician, Powell was a professor of Ancient Greek at Sydney University, Australia. When World War II, started he joined the British Army in 1939 as a private but, by 1945, had been promoted to Brigadier.

Political career

He was elected to the House of Commons in 1950, and was a government minister in 1957-1958 and again between 1960 and 1963. In 1962 when he was Minister of Health he launched the Hospital Plan which had plans for 90 new hospitals, 134 to be rebuilt and about 1000 more small hospitals to be closed - the biggest building programme the NHS had seen.

He made a speech in 1968 in which he said that if the United Kingdom let too many immigrants live there, there would be fighting in the streets.

In 1974 he left the Conservative Party before the February election, and became an MP in Northern Ireland for the Ulster Unionist Party in October 1974.

Personal life

Powell was married to Pamela Wilson from 1952 until his death in 1998. They had two daughters.

Death

Powell was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1992. He died on February 8, 1998 in London, England from the illness, aged 85. He is buried at Warwick Cemetery, Warwick, Warwickshire, England.

Other websites

• Enoch Powell: Life and Views