Maudling, Reginald, 1917–79, British politician. A lawyer, he entered Parliament in 1950 as a Conservative and rapidly rose to prominence, serving as minister of supply (1955–57), paymaster-general (1957–59), president of the board of trade (1959–61), colonial secretary (1961–62), and chancellor of the exchequer (1962–64). He was narrowly defeated by Edward Heath in a contest for the Conservative party leadership in 1965. When the Conservatives returned to power in 1970, he became home secretary, assuming responsibility for two explosive matters—race relations and Northern Ireland. However, he resigned in 1972 because of his past connection with a bankrupt company that was under police investigation for corruption.
See his memoirs (1978).
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