David Lloyd George Biography

David Lloyd George was a British Liberal politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He became the Prime Minister in the midst of the First World War, assuming great responsibilities at a highly turbulent period. Prior to becoming the Prime Minister he had served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the administration of the Prime Minister H. H. Asquith and had aided the Prime Minister in implementing several progressive social welfare reforms. Once the British Empire entered the First World War, Lloyd George was named the Minister of Munitions in a new department created after a munitions shortage. As the minister of the new department he helped to resolve labour problems, rationalized the supply system and increased the production. Hailed a hero for his wartime efforts in this position, he was made the Secretary of State for War in 1916. By this time he was growing increasingly critical of the Asquith administration and replaced Asquith as the Prime Minister with the support of the Conservative and Labour leaders. He proved to be popular as the wartime Prime Minister and was as popular as ever even after the war. However, he became involved in a scandal involving the selling of knighthoods and peerages in 1922, which along with the Chanak crisis led to a decline in his popularity, forcing him to resign.