John Profumo
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John Dennis Profumo, CBE (January 30, 1915 – March 10, 2006), often called Jack Profumo, was a British politician and the central figure in the Profumo Affair of 1963, which caused severe damage to the Conservative government of Harold Macmillan and is held to have contributed to its defeat the following year. In later life he worked to aid Toynbee Hall, a London charity, and used his political skills and contacts to raise large sums of money. He was advanced from OBE (Military) to CBE in 1975 in recognition of this work. Image:JohnProfumo.jpg
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Early life and career
Profumo was the son of Albert Profumo, a prominent barrister of Italian origin, who held the title 4th Baron Profumo (originally awarded to the family by the Kingdom of Sardinia). On his father's death in 1940 Profumo inherited this title, but did not use it. He was educated at Harrow School and Brasenose College, Oxford, where he took his degree in agriculture and political economy. In 1939 he joined the British Army (Northamptonshire Yeomanry), and served in North Africa (where he was mentioned in dispatches), landed in Normandy on D-Day and was engaged in the subsequent fierce fighting to secure that region of France. His final rank was brigadier. He was awarded an OBE (military) for his service on Field Marshal Harold Alexander's staff commanding the 15th Army Group in Italy towards the end of the war.
Political career
In March 1940, while still serving in the army, he was elected to the House of Commons as a Conservative at a by-election in Kettering, Northamptonshire. Shortly afterwards he voted against the Chamberlain government in the debate following the British defeat at Narvik in Norway. He was the youngest MP at that time, and by the time of his death he was last surviving member of the 1940 House of Commons.
At the 1945 election Profumo was defeated at Kettering by a Labour candidate, Gilbert Mitchison. Later in 1945 he was chief of staff to the British Mission to Japan. In 1950 he left the army and at the 1950 election he was elected for Stratford-on-Avon in Warwickshire, then a safe Conservative seat.
Profumo was a handsome, well-spoken, well-connected politician with a good war record, was highly regarded in the Conservative party, and rose steadily through the ranks of the Conservative government elected in 1951. He was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation in November 1952, Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation in November 1953, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies in January 1957, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign Office in November 1958, and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in January 1959. In 1954 he married the actress Valerie Hobson.
In July 1960, Profumo joined the Macmillan cabinet as Secretary of State for War, and was appointed a member of the Privy Council.
The "Profumo Affair"
In January 1961, at a party at Cliveden, home of Viscount Astor, Profumo met Christine Keeler, a call girl with whom he had a brief affair. The relationship lasted only a few weeks before Profumo ended it, but rumours about the affair began to circulate.
Keeler was also involved with Yevgeny Ivanov, the senior naval attaché at the Soviet Embassy. The "Profumo Affair" thus took on a national security dimension, and it was this which led to the matter becoming public.
In December 1962, a shooting incident in London involving two other men who were involved with Keeler led the press to investigate her, and reporters soon learned of her affairs with Profumo and Ivanov. But the British tradition of respecting the private lives of British politicians was maintained until March 1963, when the Labour MP George Wigg, claiming to be motivated by the national security aspects of the case, referred in the House of Commons to rumours that Profumo was having an affair with Keeler. Profumo then made a personal statement in which he admitted he knew Keeler but denied there was any "impropriety" in their relationship.
Profumo's statement did not prevent newspapers publishing stories about Keeler, and it soon became apparent to Macmillan that his position was untenable. On 5 June 1963 Profumo was forced to admit that he had lied to the House: an unforgiveable sin in British politics. He resigned from office, from the House and from the Privy Council. Before making his public confession Profumo confessed the affair to his wife, who stood by him. It was never shown that his relationship with Keeler had led to any breach of national security. The scandal rocked the Conservative government, and was generally held to have been among the causes of its defeat by Labour at the 1964 election.
Profumo maintained complete public silence about the Profumo Affair for the rest of his life, even when the 1989 film Scandal and the publication of Keeler's memoirs revived the affair in the public mind.
Later life
Shortly after his resignation Profumo began to work as a volunteer at Toynbee Hall, a charity based in the East End of London, and continued to work there for the rest of his life. Eventually he became Toynbee Hall's chief fundraiser, and used his political skills and contacts to raise large sums of money. All this work was done as a volunteer, since Profumo was able to live on his inherited wealth. His wife also devoted herself to charity until her death in 1998. In the eyes of most commentators Profumo's charity work redeemed his reputation. The social reform campaigner Lord Longford said he "felt more admiration [for Profumo] than [for] all the men I've known in my lifetime".
Profumo was awarded a CBE in 1975, which he received at a Buckingham Palace ceremony from Queen Elizabeth II, signalling his return to respectability. In 1995, former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher invited him to her 70th birthday dinner, where he sat next to the Queen. He appeared only occasionally in public, particularly in his last years when he was confined to a wheelchair. His last appearance was at the memorial service for Sir Edward Heath on 8 November 2005.
Death and tributes
On 7 March 2006 Profumo suffered a severe stroke and was admitted to London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. He died two days later surrounded by his family. In the immediate aftermath of his death most commentators said that he should be remembered as much for his contribution to society as for the scandal of 1963.
External links
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| title = Baby of the House | years = 1940–1941 | before = Malcolm Macmillan | after = George Charles Grey
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| title = Baby of the House | years = 1944–1945 | before = George Charles Grey | after = Ernest Millington
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| title = Secretary of State for War | years = 1960–1963 | before = Christopher Soames | after = Joseph Godber
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