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25 February 2021 / Alec Samuels
Issue: 7922 / Categories: Features , Constitutional law
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Viscount Haldane: the forgotten statesman

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Alec Samuels reflects on the life & times of Viscount Haldane

Viscount Haldane (1856-1928) statesman, philosopher, and lawyer, made an extraordinary impact upon his life and times, and beyond. A Scot, from Oxford he went to the English Bar, became a QC in his thirties, specialising in property and constitutional law, was 25 years an MP, and over ten years a cabinet minister. The Order of Merit was recognition indeed as one of the top 20 public figures in the country in his time. Today we would characterise him as an intellectual polymath.

The secretary of state for war (1905-1912), Haldane reorganised the army, set up the territorials, founded the Royal Flying Corps, and thoroughly prepared the army for the Great War. Field Marshal Lord Haig, commander in chief of the army for the latter part of WWI, visited Haldane at the end of the war and acknowledged Haldane as the greatest single contributor to victory.

For his 17 years as a judge, many contributions to our jurisprudence may be found

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