Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson, Lord (1916-95). British statesman; prime minister (1964-70; 1974-76). An economics lecturer at Oxford, he acted as a government adviser during World War II and entered Parliament as a Labour member in 1945. He was elected leader of the Labour party in 1963 and became prime minister a year later, when Labour was returned after 13 years in opposition. Although he was re-elected in 1966, his government’s economic plans were knocked off course by a balance of payments crisis. Defeated in 1970, he was re-elected at the head of minority Labour governments in the two elections of 1974. He resigned unexpectedly in 1976.
