Lloyd George, David

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Lloyd George, David (1863–1945) British statesman, prime minister (1916–22). A Welsh Liberal, he entered Parliament in 1890. As chancellor of the exchequer (1908–15), Lloyd George increased taxation to pay for social measures such as old-age pensions. His ‘People's Budget’ (1909) provoked a constitutional crisis that led to a reduction of the powers of the House of Lords. He was an effective minister of munitions (1915) during World War I. In 1916, he led a cabinet rebellion to dislodge the prime minister, Herbert Asquith. Lloyd George led a coalition government with the Conservatives for the rest of the war. He won by a landslide in 1918 elections and was a leading figure at the peace conference in Versailles. In 1921, he negotiated with Sinn Féin to create the Irish Free State and the Conservatives withdrew their support. Andrew Bonar Law succeeded him as prime minister.

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