Richard Stafford Cripps

Born Apr. 24, 1889, in London; died Apr. 21, 1952, in Zurich. English statesman, Labour Party member. A lawyer by profession.

Cripps was a member of the House of Commons from 1931 to 1950. In the 1930’s he was one of the leaders of the left wing of the Labour Party; in 1934—35 he was a member of its executive committee. In the prewar years he advocated repulsing fascist aggression and strengthening collective security with the participation of the USSR. He supported the creation of a united front of all left-wing organizations, including the Communist Party, for which in January 1939 he was expelled from the Labour Party. With the coming to power of the government of W. Churchill, Cripps was named ambassador to the USSR. (He occupied this post from May 1940 to January 1942.) On behalf of Great Britain in July 1941 he signed the agreement with the USSR on joint operations in the war against fascist Germany. In March 1942 he headed a special British mission to India. He was the leader of the House of Commons (1942) and then minister of aircraft production in the Churchill government (1942–45). In March 1945 he was reaccepted into the Labour Party. In the Labour government of C. Attlee he occupied the posts of minister of trade (1945–47), minister of economic affairs (1947), and chancellor of the exchequer (1947–50).