Edward Heath

Edward "Ted" Heath was a British Conservative politician. Born in Kent in 1916 to a lower-middle class family, he attended Oxford University, where he became involved in Conservative politics. As a student, he went on a tour of Europe shortly before the outbreak of World War II, giving him a strong distaste for Nazi Germany. He entered Parliament some years after the war, and was appointed to the cabinet of Prime Minister Enoch Powell; as Minister of Defence, Heath was tasked with coordinating British counterinsurgencies in Aden and Guiana. After the Conservatives lost the general election of 1968 to Harold Wilson's Labour Party and Powell resigned to the backbenches, Heath was appointed Leader of the Conservative Party, partly because his lower-middle class background was expected to win support from an electorate which had supported Wilson. By the end of 1971, however, Heath was no longer party leader, having ceded the position to Reginald Maudling.

Mentions
Heath is mentioned in Parts 97 and 104 of For All Time.