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Alfred Lyttelton

Alfred Lyttelton (7 February 1857 - 5 July 1913) was a British politician.

The youngest of twelve children of George William Lyttelton, 4th Baron Lyttelton , and a nephew to William Ewart Gladstone, Alfred studied at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge, and proved a great sportsman, particularly in cricket.

He took up the law, and served as legal private secretary to the Attorney General, Sir Henry James. He remained apolitical until his uncle's retirement, but in 1894 entered politics as a Liberal Unionist, and was elected to parliament in 1895.

In 1900, he was sent by Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain to South Africa as chairman of the committee planning reconstruction following the Boer War, a position in which he impressed South African High Commissioner Alfred Milner.

Upon Chamberlain's resignation, Lyttelton succeeded him as Colonial Secretary, despite his relative political inexperience. His decision to allow Chinese indentured labor into South Africa proved highly controversial and became a major issue for the Liberals in the 1906 election. Lyttelton also attempted ambitious reforms Britain's management of the colonies towards a more decentralized, imperial vision, but these ideas were abandoned by the Liberals who succeeded him.

After the Conservatives' fall from power, Lyttelton remained active politically, opposing Welsh disestablishment and supporting women's suffrage. In the summer of 1913, he was struck in the stomach during a cricket match, and soon died of an abscess.

Lyttelton's son, Oliver Lyttelton, would become a Member of Parliament, Secretary of State for the Colonies and 1st Viscount Chandos.

Preceded by:
Joseph Chamberlain
Secretary of State for the Colonies
1903-1905
Followed by:
The Earl of Elgin
Last updated: 01-04-2007 01:18:57
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