Secretary of State
Appointed Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Role range: 1970-1974 – 1972-1973
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
William Whitelaw Biography and Timeline
Follow William Whitelaw through 17 dated historical records for Great Britain.
William Whitelaw, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
17Distinct records
1 of 1Page
1972–1980Years on this page
1972
IRA - IRA
Government record concerning the IRA: Heath permits his Secretary of State for Northern Ireland William Whitelaw to hold unofficial talks in London with a Provisional IRA delegation by Se n Mac Stiof in
Role range: 1970-1974 – 1972-1973
IRA - IRA
Historical IRA record under Conservative Party Government: Heath permits his Secretary of State for Northern Ireland William Whitelaw to hold unofficial talks in London with a Provisional IRA delegation by Se n Mac Stiof in
Role range: 1970-1974 – 1972-1973
IRA - IRA
IRA context for William Whitelaw: Heath permits his Secretary of State for Northern Ireland William Whitelaw to hold unofficial talks in London with a Provisional IRA delegation by Se n Mac Stiof in
Role range: 1970-1974 – 1972-1973
IRA - Negotiations
Government record concerning the IRA: Heath permits his Secretary of State for Northern Ireland William Whitelaw to hold unofficial talks in London with a Provisional IRA delegation by Se n Mac Stiof in
Role range: 1970-1974 – 1972-1973
IRA - Negotiations
Historical IRA record under Conservative Party Government: Heath permits his Secretary of State for Northern Ireland William Whitelaw to hold unofficial talks in London with a Provisional IRA delegation by Se n Mac Stiof in
Role range: 1970-1974 – 1972-1973
IRA - Negotiations
IRA context for William Whitelaw: Heath permits his Secretary of State for Northern Ireland William Whitelaw to hold unofficial talks in London with a Provisional IRA delegation by Se n Mac Stiof in
Role range: 1970-1974 – 1972-1973
IRA
Heath permits his Secretary of State for Northern Ireland William Whitelaw to hold unofficial talks in London with a Provisional IRA delegation by Se n Mac Stiof in
Role range: 1970-1974 – 1972-1973
Negotiations
Heath permits his Secretary of State for Northern Ireland William Whitelaw to hold unofficial talks in London with a Provisional IRA delegation by Se n Mac Stiof in
Role range: 1970-1974 – 1972-1973
1973
Miners Strike
Handles negotiations and industrial relations policy as the miners dispute escalates.
Role range: 1973-1974 – 1973-1974
Three Day Week
Handles industrial relations pressure as the miners overtime ban pushes the government toward emergency energy controls.
Role range: 1970-1974 – 1973-1974
1979
Home Secretary of Great Britain
Appointed Home Secretary
Role range: 1979-1992 – 1979-1983
1980
St Pauls Riot
Handles policing questions after the St Pauls riot.
Role range: 1979-1990 – 1979-1983
St Pauls Riot
Whitelaw faces questions after disorder in St Pauls.
Role range: 1979-1990 – 1979-1983
Iranian Embassy Siege
Faces the start of the Iranian Embassy siege at Princes Gate.
Role range: 1979-1990 – 1979-1983
Home Office
Handles policing, prisons and internal security for the Thatcher government.
Role range: 1979-1990 – 1979-1983
Immigration Policy
Maintains tighter immigration policy during nationality-law reform debates.
Role range: 1979-1990 – 1979-1983
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.