John Profumo

John Dennis Profumo, 5th Baron Profumo CBE (* January 30, 1915, † March 10, 2006 in London) was a conservative British politician with the eponymous Profumo affair created a scandal in the 1960s.

Life

Profumo was educated at Oxford Brasenose College. He became a member of the Conservative Party of Great Britain, and received in 1940 a seat in the British House of Commons. He was the youngest at the time of parliament of Great Britain. After the Second World War he was briefly employed as Chief of Staff of the British Army in Japan. After he returned to Britain in 1950, he held several political positions, before being appointed in 1960 as Minister of War ( Secretary of State for War ) under Harold Macmillan.

The following year, the photo model Christine Keeler it was presented, and he began, even though he was married to actress Valerie Hobson, an affair with her. Christine Keeler himself had links to the Soviet naval attaché in London, whom she later identified as a spy. On 2 March 1963, the Labour MP George Wigg gave a speech in Parliament, in which he revealed the involvement Profumo and Christine Keeler to his acquaintance. A few weeks after the speech confirmed Profumo acquaintance to Keeler, however, denied a misstep. From the press this statement was not included, and in countless cover stories has been speculated about the relationship Profumo to Keeler. On June 5, 1963 John Profumo resigned after he admitted to having lied to the inquiry about his relationship with Christine Keeler.

After his retirement from politics Profumo worked for the nonprofit Toynbee Hall. For his services in helping poorer population groups in the East End of London, he was appointed in 1975 Commander of the British Empire. Profumo's wife Valerie Hobson remained despite the affair with her husband and worked together with him on the non-profit projects. She died in 1998.

Profumo appeared only rarely in public appearances, especially in his last years, when he was confined to a wheelchair. His last public appearance took place on 8 November 2005, at the funeral of Sir Edward Heath. John Dennis Profumo died on the night of March 10, 2006 to the effects of a stroke in a London hospital.

His son is the journalist and author David Profumo (* 1955).