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Anthony Eden Facts & Worksheets

Anthony Eden was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955 to 1957.

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Sir Anthony Eden, Earl of Avon, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955 to 1957. He served in the British Army during the First World War and he became a member of Parliament in 1923. His term as Prime Minister was cut short when he resigned from office in 1957, citing health reasons.

See the fact file below for more information on Anthony Eden, or you can download our 30-page Anthony Eden worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

HIGHLIGHTS OF ANTHONY EDEN’S LIFE

  • Sir Anthony Eden became Foreign Secretary three times and he held this position during crucial moments in British history, including the Second World War. He succeeded Sir Winston Churchill as leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister.
  • His short political career will be remembered for his foreign policy decisions. His most controversial decision was during the 1956 Suez Crisis, when the United Kingdom collaborated with France and Israel in a failed military invasion to retake the Suez Canal in Egypt.

EARLY LIFE

  • Robert Anthony Eden, commonly known as simply Anthony Eden, was born on 12 June 1897 in County Durham in North East England. He was born to a wealthy and landed family. In his younger years, he attended Eton College, a boarding school for boys in Eton, Berkshire, England. After the First World War, he studied at Christ Church, Oxford, and graduated in 1922.
  • At Christ Church, Oxford, Eden’s interests were mainly in languages and the arts. He studied Oriental languages, mainly Persian and Arabic. He was a co-founder of the Uffizi Society, an organization that was dedicated to painters. He was also a member of the Oxford University Dramatic Society.

ANTHONY EDEN IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR

  • Anthony Eden had relatives who served in the First World War, including younger and older brothers, his uncle, and his brother-in-law. Unfortunately, they were all killed in action.
  • Anthony Eden volunteered for service in the British Army when he was 18 years old. His continuous service in the British Army earned him the rank of brigade major of the 198th Infantry Brigade when he was 20 years old. Because of this, Eden became known as the youngest brigade major in the British Army. He also held the rank of captain in the army.

POLITICAL CAREER

Eden in Parliament

  • Anthony Eden was first elected as a member of the British Parliament after the December 1923 general election. He was 26 years old at the time. He represented the constituency of Warwick and Leamington in the House of Commons under the British Conservative Party. He served in Parliament until 1957.
  • The British Parliament, formerly known as the “Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,” is the main legislative body of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for crafting the laws of the land.
  • The Parliament is made up of two chambers: the House of Commons (lower chamber) and the House of Lords (upper chamber). The Prime Minister is the Head of Government. The British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, is the Head of State and opens parliamentary proceedings.

Eden as Foreign Secretary

  • Anthony Eden served as Foreign Secretary thrice during his years as MP: first from 1935-38, second from 1940-45, and third from 1951-55. His years of service as Foreign Secretary occurred during important events in British and world history, including the Second World War.
  • His foreign policy principles were aligned with the national interest of the United Kingdom, namely an aversion toward war, and an inclination toward peaceful settlements through the League of Nations, the predecessor of the United Nations.
  • Before becoming Foreign Secretary, Anthony Eden’s early training in foreign affairs began during the first few years of his MP career. He was actively involved in foreign dialogues and very vocal about international affairs, including the Anglo-Turkish friendship that led to the ratification of the Treaty of Lausanne.
  • He resigned as Foreign Secretary in 1938, a year before the Second World War broke out in 1939 because he protested the decision of the former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain to appease Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler and fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini. Germany took over Austria in 1938, and Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935.
  • Anthony Eden returned as Foreign Secretary for the second time in 1940 under the premiership of Sir Winston Churchill. He assisted Prime Minister Churchill in many of the United Kingdom’s foreign policy decisions. He left the position of Foreign Secretary for the second time in 1946 after the Conservative Party lost the 1945 general elections and Sir Winston Churchill ceased to be the Prime Minister.
  • The Conservative Party, headed by Sir Winston Churchill, regained power in 1951 after winning the general elections. With Sir Winston Churchill back as Prime Minister, he re-appointed Anthony Eden as Foreign Secretary for the third time.

Becoming Prime Minister

  • Anthony Eden’s second and third terms as Foreign Secretary were under the premiership of Sir Winston Churchill. Because of his track record, he became known as one of Winston Churchill’s most trusted officials despite their political disagreements.
  • When Winston Churchill resigned in 1955, Anthony Eden succeeded him as leader of the Conservative Party and eventually as Prime Minister. Before becoming Prime Minister, Anthony Eden was knighted in 1954. He became Prime Minister on April 6, 1955. He earned the title Earl of Avon in 1961.
  • After his knighthood, Anthony Eden, now known as Sir Anthony Eden, was extremely popular among the British public during the first year of his premiership.
  • Apart from being a trusted official of Sir Winston Churchill, Eden had a record of public service as part of the British Army, as a Member of the Parliament, and as Foreign Secretary. The Conservative Party’s majority in Parliament increased from 17 to 60 after the May 1955 general elections during his first year as Prime Minister.
  • Sir Anthony Eden became Prime Minister at a time when the United Kingdom was recovering from the Second World War. It was during his short term as Prime Minister that unemployment rates were low.
  • Eden’s popularity was largely affected by his controversial foreign policy decisions during the 1956 Suez crisis.

Handling the 1956 Suez Crisis

  • The Suez Canal is an artificial waterway in Egypt that serves as a very important trade route between Europe and Asia. It opened in 1869 and remains operational at the present time. From 1869 to 1956, it was managed by the Suez Canal Company, whose former main stakeholders were France and the United Kingdom.
  • Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser pursued policies that were against British interests. This resulted in hostility between President Nasser and British leaders, including Prime Minister Anthony Eden.
  • In 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal after the failure to secure foreign funding for the Aswan Dam. He transferred the management of the Suez Canal to the Egyptian government-owned Suez Canal Authority. This decision was not taken well by the United Kingdom under the premiership of Sir Anthony Eden.
  • Sir Anthony Eden believed that the decision of President Nasser to nationalize the Suez Canal violated the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty that was agreed upon by Egypt, France, and the United Kingdom.
  • The Suez Crisis occurred in 1956 when Israel, together with France and the United Kingdom, invaded Egypt with the main objective of regaining control over the Suez Canal.

Resignation as Prime Minister

  • The invasion of Egypt by Israel, France, and the United Kingdom was condemned by the international community, including the United States of America. The attacking countries withdrew from Egypt, but the event caused serious damage to the reputation of the United Kingdom and Eden’s leadership.
  • Sir Anthony Eden resigned from his position as Prime Minister on January 9, 1957, citing health reasons. He already had multiple health complications before becoming Prime Minister, but his health worsened while he was in office.

LEGACY AS PRIME MINISTER

  • After his resignation as Prime Minister, Sir Anthony Eden entered the House of Lords as Lord Avon in 1961. He died on January 14, 1977, due to a liver ailment.
  • Sir Anthony Eden will always be remembered in British political history for his experience in foreign affairs. In the span of his long career, his legacy includes his opposition to the appeasement of Germany and Italy, his diplomatic approach to international relations, and his management of the Suez Crisis.

Anthony Eden Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Anthony Eden across 22 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching kids about Anthony Eden, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955 to 1957.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  1. Anthony Eden Facts
  2. Government 101
  3. Let’s Take a History Trip!
  4. The Conservative Party
  5. A Public Servant
  6. Two Truths, One Lie
  7. Foreign Affairs
  8. Houses of Parliament
  9. Government Roles
  10. Achieving World Peace
  11. A For Anthony

Frequently Asked Questions

What was Anthony Eden known for?

Eden was one of the most famous politicians of his generation. He was named Foreign Secretary by Neville Chamberlain in 1935 and resigned in protest over Chamberlain’s appeasement of Adolf Hitler two years later. During World War II, he served as Winston Churchill’s Foreign Minister, and again from 1951 to 1955.

Why did Anthony Eden step down?

Eden resigned from parliament on February 20, 1938, to protest Chamberlain’s policy of trying to have good relationships with the Italian Mussolini regime. Eden was worried that the Mussolini regime might be bad for Britain. However, Eden did not have any problems with Chamberlain trying to make peace with Nazi Germany.

What happened to Anthony Eden as a result of the Suez Crisis?

The United Nations created the UNEF Peacekeepers to police the Egyptian-Israeli border after the conflict. British Prime Minister Anthony Eden resigned because of the conflict. Britain and France lost most of their influence in the Middle East as a result of the episode.

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Use With Any Curriculum

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