Harold Wilson
Photograph copyright of the National Portrait Gallery NPG x45598
Harold Wilson, 1916-1995
Profession: Statesman and Labour Party politician; twice Prime Minister
About his life:
- Studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Jesus College, Oxford. He later became an Economic History lecturer and a research fellow
- Elected to Parliament in 1945, appointed to the Attlee government as a Parliamentary Secretary
- Led Labour to a narrow victory at the 1964 election. As prime minister oversaw a period of low unemployment and relative economic prosperity
- Presided over significant societal changes, abolishing capital punishment, partially decriminalising male homosexuality, relaxing the divorce laws, and liberalising birth control and abortion law
