Denis Healey
The Right Honourable The Lord Healey CH MBE PC FRSL Healey in 1974 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party In office 4 November 1980 – 2 October 1983 Leader Michael Foot Preceded by Michael Foot Succeeded by Roy Hattersley Shadow Foreign Secretary In office 8 December 1980 – 13 July 1987 Leader Michael Foot Neil Kinnock Preceded by Peter Shore Succeeded by Gerald Kaufman In office 20 June 1970 – 19 April 1972 Leader Harold Wilson Preceded by Sir Alec Douglas-Home Succeeded by James Callaghan In office 11 October 1959 – 2 November 1961 Leader Hugh Gaitskell Preceded by Aneurin Bevan Succeeded by Harold Wilson Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer In office 4 May 1979 – 8 December 1980 Leader James Callaghan Preceded by Geoffrey Howe Succeeded by Peter Shore In office 19 April 1972 – 4 March 1974 Leader Harold Wilson Preceded by Roy Jenkins Succeeded by Robert Carr Chancellor of the Exchequer In office 5 March 1974 – 4 May 1979 Prime Minister Harold Wilson James Callaghan Preceded by Anthony Barber Succeeded by Sir Geoffrey Howe Secretary of State for Defence In office 16 October 1964 – 19 June 1970 Prime Minister Harold Wilson Preceded by Peter Thorneycroft Succeeded by The Lord Carrington Shadow Secretary of State for Defence In office 1 April 1964 – 16 October 1964 Leader Harold Wilson Preceded by Office Created Succeeded by Peter Thorneycroft Member of Parliament for Leeds East In office 26 May 1955 – 9 April 1992 Preceded by Constituency Created Succeeded by George Mudie Member of Parliament for Leeds South East In office 14 February 1952 – 26 May 1955 Preceded by James Milner Succeeded by Alice Bacon Personal details Born Denis Winston Healey (1917-08-30) 30 August 1917 (age 97) Mottingham, Kent, England Political party Labour Spouse(s) Edna Edmunds (1945–2010; her death) Alma mater Balliol College, Oxford Military service Service/branch British Army • Royal Engineers Years of service 1940–1945 Rank Major Battles/wars World War II • North African Campaign • Italian Campaign • Battle of Anzio Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey, CH, MBE, PC (born 30 August 1917) is a retired British Labour politician who served as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979. He was a Member of Parliament for over 40 years (from 1952 until his retirement in 1992) and is the last surviving member of the cabinet formed by Harold Wilson after the Labour Party's victory in the 1964 general election. A major figure in the party, he was twice defeated in bids for the party leadership. Healey became well known for his trademark bushy eyebrows and his creative turns of phrase. During an interview with Nick Clarke on Radio 4, Denis Healey was the first Labour politician to publicly declare his wish for the Labour leadership to fall to Tony Blair in 1994 (following the death of Labour leader John Smith).