Longford, Earl of (1905-2001), Frank Pakenham, a United Kingdom Labour Party politician, was a member of the Labour governments that came to power in 1945 and 1964. Although born into the Protestant religion, he became a Roman Catholic of strong religious convictions, later conducting a famous campaign against pornography. Lord Longford was the husband of the distinguished author Elizabeth Longford.
Francis Aungier Pakenham was born in London on Dec. 5, 1905. He was educated at Eton College and New College, Oxford University. During World War II (1939-1945), Longford was personal assistant to Sir William Beveridge, who proposed much of the legislation for the founding of the postwar welfare state in the United Kingdom. In 1945, Longford was given the title of Baron Pakenham of Cowley by Prime Minister Clement Attlee. Longford entered the House of Lords as a Labour peer. He was chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster in 1947 and 1948, minister of civil aviation from 1948 to 1951, and first lord of the Admiralty in 1951.
Longford became the seventh Earl of Longford upon the death of his brother in 1961. He held a number of high offices in the Labour government from 1964 to 1968 and was leader of the House of Lords for the whole of that time. Longford was lord privy seal in 1964 and 1965, secretary of state for the colonies in 1965 and 1966, and lord privy seal again in 1966. He resigned from the government in 1968. During the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, he became well known for his campaign against pornography in the United Kingdom. In the 1980’s and 1990’s, he campaigned unsuccessfully for the release from prison of the convicted murderer Myra Hindley.
Longford wrote a number of books, including biographies of Saint Francis of Assisi in 1978 and Pope John Paul II in 1982. Longford’s book, A History of the House of Lords, was published in 1989. His autobiography, Avowed Intent, appeared in 1994. He died on August 3, 2001.
