Anthony Eden

Anthony Eden was a British politician who served as Foreign Secretary three times in his career, and later also became the Prime Minister of UK. He carved out a career in the Foreign Office during important periods in the Second World War and the Cold War, and played a key role in regulating foreign policies to face the rise of the fascist powers. Born and raised in a conservative English family, he displayed great courage and ability in combat service during the First World War. His political ascent was steady, as he moved through a series of government posts mainly dealing with foreign affairs. As Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, most of his tenure was dominated by the search for some form of binding agreement with the dictators on arms and territorial disputes. After Churchill’s retirement, Eden finally took the lead as the British Prime Minister, but it lasted only until his resignation a year later after the Suez Crisis. Even though he justified that his action of an Israeli attack on Egypt, following the nationalization of Suez Canal, was to the best of British commercial interests, the badly performed invasion overshadowed his worldwide reputation as a skilled diplomat and brought an end to his political career. Despite the fact that he is most recalled for his controversial handling of the Suez crisis, Anthony Eden was undoubtedly a very able and committed politician.