David Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir

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David Patrick Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir GCVO, PC, KC, (29 May 1900 – 27 January 1967) was a British politician and jurist who became Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.

Born in Edinburgh, he became the youngest King's Counsel in 250 years in 1934 and was elected to the House of Commons in the Conservative interest at the 1935 general election, as Member of Parliament for Liverpool West Derby.

Though Sir Hartley Shawcross was technically the British prosecutor at Nuremberg, the actual prosecution was done by Maxwell Fyfe. Maxwell Fyfe's cross-examination of Herman Göring is one of the most noted cross examinations in history.

When Winston Churchill returned to power in 1951, David Maxwell Fyfe became Home Secretary. In 1954 he was created Viscount Kilmuir and moved to the House of Lords as Lord Chancellor. He continued in this office in the Governments of Anthony Eden and Harold Macmillan until 1962, when he was abruptly replaced by Sir Reginald Manningham-Buller, the Attorney-General, who was made a Baron while Kilmuir was made Earl of Kilmuir and Baron Fyfe of Dornoch to cushion the blow of retirement, although it might have cushioned it more effectively had Kilmuir not learned of the changes listening on the radio.

During Maxwell Fyfe's tenure as Home Secretary, he was embroiled in the controversy surrounding the hanging of Derek Bentley. Maxwell Fyfe had controversially refused to grant a reprieve to Bentley despite the written petitions of 200 MP's and the fact that Bentley was mentally retarded having only a mental age of 11. [1] The decision had resulted in significant public outcry and strengthened the movement for the abolition of capital punishment.

He married Sylvia Harrison (1904-1992) in 1925 and they had two daughters. His brother-in-law was the actor Sir Rex Harrison. When he died in 1967, his titles, which could only pass to sons, became extinct, as he had only daughters.

Maxwell Fyfe was on the traditionalist right of the party, particularly noted for his strong support for the retention of the death penalty. He was an effective media performer, often representing the Conservative Party on radio discussion programmes. In the valleys of South Wales he was nicknamed Dai Bananas.

[edit] Styles

• David Maxwell Fyfe, Esq. (—1934)
• David Maxwell Fyfe, Esq., KC (1934–1935)
• David Maxwell Fyfe, Esq., KC, MP (1935–1942)
• Sir David Maxwell Fyfe, KC, MP (1942–1945)
• The Rt Hon. Sir David Maxwell Fyfe, KC, MP (1945–1952)
• The Rt Hon. Sir David Maxwell Fyfe, QC, MP (1952–1953)
• The Rt Hon. Sir David Maxwell Fyfe, GCVO, QC, MP (1953–1954)
• The Rt Hon. The Viscount Kilmuir, GCVO, PC (1954–1962)
• The Rt Hon. The Earl of Kilmuir, GCVO, PC (1962—1967)

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Sir John Sandeman Allen	Member of Parliament for Liverpool West Derby 1935–1954	Succeeded by John Victor Woollam
Legal Offices
Preceded by William Jowitt	Solicitor General for England and Wales 1942–1945	Succeeded by Walter Monckton
Preceded by Sir Donald Somervell	Attorney General 1945	Succeeded by Sir Hartley Shawcross
Political offices
Preceded by James Chuter Ede	Home Secretary 1951–1954	Succeeded by Gwilym Lloyd George
Preceded by The Lord Simonds	Lord Chancellor 1954–1962	Succeeded by The Lord Dilhorne
Academic Offices
Preceded by The Earl of Crawford	Rector of the University of St Andrews 1955–1958	Succeeded by Robert Boothby
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by (new creation)	Earl of Kilmuir 1962–1967	Succeeded by (extinct)