George Harvie-Watt

Sir
George Steven Harvie-Watt
Bt
Sir George Steven Harvie-Watt Bt
	Sir George Steven Harvie-Watt in 1945
Member of Parliament ; for Keighley
	In office; 27 October 1931 – 25 October 1935
Preceded by	Hastings Lees-Smith
Succeeded by	Hastings Lees-Smith
Member of Parliament ; for Richmond (Surrey)
	In office; 25 February 1937 – 18 September 1959
Preceded by	William Ray
Succeeded by	Anthony Royle
Majority	12,837 (45.4%)
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
	In office; 1941–1945
Prime Minister	Winston Churchill
Preceded by	Brendan Bracken
Succeeded by	Geoffrey de freitas
Personal details
Born	23 August 1903
Died	18 December 1989 (aged 86)
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Jane Elizabeth Taylor (m. 4 January 1932)
Children	3
Education	George Watson's College
Alma mater	University of Glasgow; University of Edinburgh
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	British Army
Rank	Lieutenant-Colonel; Brigadier
Unit	Territorial Army Royal Engineers
Awards	Efficiency Decoration (TD)

Sir George Steven Harvie-Watt, 1st Baronet, QC, TD, DL, FRSA (23 August 1903 – 18 December 1989) was a British barrister and Conservative Party politician.

Harvie-Watt studied at George Watson's College in Edinburgh, then at the University of Glasgow and the University of Edinburgh. In 1924, he was commissioned into the Territorial Army Royal Engineers. In 1930, he became a barrister at Inner Temple, while at the 1931 general election, he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Keighley. He lost his seat in 1935, but re-entered Parliament by winning a by-election for the seat of Richmond (Surrey) in 1937. He immediately became Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Board of Trade, and was also promoted in the Territorial Army: to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1938, and Brigadier in 1941.^[1]

From 1941 to 1945, Harvie-Watt served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Winston Churchill. He was awarded the Efficiency Decoration (TD) in 1942 for 20 years service in the Territorial Army. At the end of World War II, he became a Queen's Counsel and was created a baronet (see Harvie-Watt baronets).^[2] In 1948 he became an aide-de-camp to George VI; on the king's death, he filled the same position for Elizabeth II, also acting as a member of the Queen's Body Guard for Scotland. He left Parliament at the 1959 general election, becoming the chairman of Consolidated Gold Fields.^[1] By 1969, he was one of the highest paid people in the United Kingdom.^[3]

He was Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London from 1966 to 1989 and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 1973.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b The Papers of Sir George Harvie-Watt, Churchill Archives Centre
^ "No. 37292". The London Gazette. 2 October 1945. p. 4862.
^ Lumsden, Andrew; O'Connor, Gillian (8 September 1969). "The pay, the power and the wealth at the top of British industry". The Times. p. 21.
^ Sir George Steven Harvie-Watt, 1st Bt.

External links

Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by George Harvie-Watt

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Hastings Lees-Smith	Member of Parliament for Keighley 1931–1935	Succeeded by Hastings Lees-Smith
Preceded by William Ray	Member of Parliament for Richmond (Surrey) 1937–1959	Succeeded by Anthony Royle
Government offices
Preceded by Brendan Bracken	Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister 1941–1945	Succeeded by Geoffrey de freitas
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Baronet (of Bathgate) 1945–1989	Succeeded by James Harvie-Watt