Austen Chamberlain Biography and Timeline

Member of Parliament

Elected Member of Parliament

Lord of the Admiralty

Appointed Civil Lord of the Admiralty

Role range: 1895-1900

Financial Secretary of Treasury

Appointed Financial Secretary to the Treasury

Role range: 1900-1902

Postmaster General

Appointed Postmaster General

Chancellor of the Exchequer

Appointed Foreign Minister

Role range: 1924-1929 – 1924-1929

Secretary of State for India

Appointed Secretary of State for India

Secretary of State for India

Appointed Secretary of State for India

Role range: 1914-1918 – 1915-1917

Resignation of Austen Chamberlain

Resigns after assuming responsipility for the Mesopotamia affair

Role range: 1914-1918 – 1915-1917

War Cabinet

Appointed Member of War Cabinet

War Cabinet

Appointed Member of War Cabinet

Role range: 1914-1918

Pre-War Gold Parity Policy

The government accepts the policy of eventually restoring sterling to its pre-war gold parity, making deflationary monetary adjustment an official postwar objective.

Role range: 1919-1921

Chancellor of the Exchequer

Appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer, 2nd term

Role range: 1916-1922 – 1919-1921

Sterling Float

Britain ends support for the wartime dollar rate and allows sterling to float.

Role range: 1919-1921

Free State

Urges the creation of the Irish Free State

Role range: 1916-1922 – 1919-1921

Independence of Great Britain

Urges the creation of the Irish Free State

Role range: 1916-1922 – 1919-1921

Independence of Ireland

Urges the creation of the Irish Free State

Role range: 1916-1922 – 1919-1921

Irish Free State

Urges the creation of the Irish Free State

Role range: 1916-1922 – 1919-1921

Lord Privy Seal

Appointed Lord Privy Seal

Role range: 1916-1922 – 1921-1922

Party Leader

Appointed Party Leader of the Conservative Party

Role range: 1916-1922 – 1921-1922

Election

Loses the party leadership because of his involvement in the Irish settlement of 1921

Chamberlain Defends Coalition Strategy

Austen Chamberlain argues that Conservatives should continue their partnership with Prime Minister David Lloyd George.

Chamberlain Addresses Party Meeting

As Conservative leader, Chamberlain sets out the case for retaining the coalition before parliamentary colleagues vote.

Chamberlain Loses Coalition Division

Chamberlain's preferred course is defeated when Conservative members vote to fight the next election independently.

Chamberlain Resigns Conservative Leadership

Chamberlain relinquishes the leadership after the Carlton Club decision repudiates his policy of continuing the coalition.

Chamberlain Declines Bonar Law Ministry

Chamberlain remains outside the new Conservative government, reflecting the division between former coalition supporters and their opponents.

Chamberlain Faction Loses Party Control

The Carlton Club decision displaces the Conservative leadership group most strongly associated with keeping Lloyd George in office.

Foreign Secretary of Great Britain

Appointed Foreign Minister

Role range: 1924-1929 – 1924-1929

Article Eight Treaty Duration Procedure

Article Eight establishes a League Council procedure governing any eventual termination of the pact.

Role range: 1924-1929 – 1924-1929

Britain Accepts Immediate Aid after Flagrant Breach

Britain agrees that an unmistakable act of aggression in the demilitarized zone can trigger assistance before a final League ruling.

Role range: 1924-1929 – 1924-1929

British Guarantee of Rhineland Pact

Chamberlain commits Britain to guarantee the western frontier settlement negotiated between Germany, France and Belgium.

Role range: 1924-1929 – 1924-1929

Chamberlain Initials Final Protocol

Chamberlain initials the final protocol linking the seven Locarno agreements into a single diplomatic settlement.

Role range: 1924-1929 – 1924-1929

Chamberlain Supports Arbitration Package

Chamberlain supports the arbitration conventions and treaties that accompany the main Rhineland Pact.

Role range: 1924-1929 – 1924-1929

Dominions and India Opt-In Clause

Article Nine states that British dominions and India are not bound unless their governments accept the treaty.

Role range: 1924-1929 – 1924-1929

British Support for League Breach Determination

Chamberlain accepts the League Council's role in determining whether a treaty breach has occurred.

Role range: 1924-1929

British Support for Locarno Settlement

Chamberlain supports the Locarno settlement as a means of strengthening European security and League diplomacy.

Role range: 1924-1929

British Support for Peaceful Settlement Procedures

Chamberlain supports judicial, conciliation and League procedures for disputes not resolved by ordinary diplomacy.

Role range: 1924-1929

Conciliation Commission Procedure Established

Other disputes can be submitted to conciliation, with unresolved questions then going to the League Council.

Role range: 1924-1929

League Article Sixteen Exception Preserved

The pact preserves action taken under Article 16 of the League Covenant as an exception to the non-aggression undertaking.

Role range: 1924-1929

British Guarantee Excludes Eastern Frontiers

Chamberlain avoids extending Britain's automatic guarantee to Germany's eastern borders with Poland and Czechoslovakia.

Role range: 1924-1929 – 1924-1929

British Mediation between France and Germany

Chamberlain mediates between French demands for security and German demands for restored diplomatic equality.

Role range: 1924-1929 – 1924-1929