Frederick Leathers, 1st Viscount Leathers
Encyclopedia
Frederick James Leathers, 1st Viscount Leathers CH
PC
(21 November 1883 – 19 March 1965) was a British industrialist and public servant.
He left school in 1898 at the age of 15 to work with Steamship Owners Coal Association (later merged with William Cory & Son), becoming managing director in 1916. He was concerned also with other companies dealing with coal or shipping services.
He served as an adviser to the Ministry of Shipping from 1914 to 1918 and 1940 to 1941, and as Minister of War Transport in 1941. He attended the Casablanca
, Washington, Quebec
, and Cairo
conferences in 1943. He negotiated the lend-lease
of American ships to Britain. He also accompanied the Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
to the Yalta
and Potsdam
Conferences.
He later served as Minister for Coordination of Transport, Fuel and Power from 1951 to 1953.
He was raised to the peerage as Baron Leathers in 1941, appointed a Companion of Honour in 1943, and created 1st Viscount Leathers
in 1954.
Order of the Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion....
PC
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
(21 November 1883 – 19 March 1965) was a British industrialist and public servant.
He left school in 1898 at the age of 15 to work with Steamship Owners Coal Association (later merged with William Cory & Son), becoming managing director in 1916. He was concerned also with other companies dealing with coal or shipping services.
He served as an adviser to the Ministry of Shipping from 1914 to 1918 and 1940 to 1941, and as Minister of War Transport in 1941. He attended the Casablanca
Casablanca Conference (1943)
The Casablanca Conference was held at the Anfa Hotel in Casablanca, Morocco, then a French protectorate, from January 14 to 24, 1943, to plan the European strategy of the Allies during World War II. Present were Franklin D...
, Washington, Quebec
Quebec Conference, 1943
The First Quebec Conference was a highly secret military conference held during World War II between the British, Canadian and United States governments. The conference was held in Quebec City, August 17, 1943 – August 24, 1943. It took place at the Citadelle and at the Château Frontenac. The...
, and Cairo
Cairo Conference
The Cairo Conference of November 22–26, 1943, held in Cairo, Egypt, addressed the Allied position against Japan during World War II and made decisions about postwar Asia...
conferences in 1943. He negotiated the lend-lease
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...
of American ships to Britain. He also accompanied the Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
to the Yalta
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference, sometimes called the Crimea Conference and codenamed the Argonaut Conference, held February 4–11, 1945, was the wartime meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, represented by President Franklin D...
and Potsdam
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, occupied Germany, from 16 July to 2 August 1945. Participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States...
Conferences.
He later served as Minister for Coordination of Transport, Fuel and Power from 1951 to 1953.
He was raised to the peerage as Baron Leathers in 1941, appointed a Companion of Honour in 1943, and created 1st Viscount Leathers
Viscount Leathers
Viscount Leathers, of Purfleet in the County of Essex, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1954 for the businessman, Conservative politician and public servant Frederick Leathers, 1st Baron Leathers. He had already been created Baron Leathers, of Purfleet in the...
in 1954.