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MODERN BRITAIN
The Fall of the EmpireThe CommonwealthThe WindsorsChurchill, ThatcherBritish Parliament and Government Today
The Fall of the Empire
• A free association of sovereign states
• No empire has been larger
• The Irish War of Independence
• Many nations wanted independence
• The UK was heavily in debt to the USA
World War I
• One of the world’s largest industrial powers• Victory brought new territories• A global military conflict• The proximate cause - 28.06.1914 the
assassination of Franz Ferdinand of Austria• The end of four major imperial powers• The Treaty of Versailles
World War II
• The Munich Pact in 1938
• Hitler and Stalin’s secret agreement
• 3.09.1939 – the declaration of war
• In 1942 Roosevelt and Churchill’s agreement
• 1945 Germany surrendered unconditionally
• Great Britain lost 300,000 fighting men and over 60,000 civilians
The Commonwealth of Nations
• an intergovernmental institution• was established in 1931 by the Statute
of Westminster• 53 member states• Were a part of the British Empire• human rights, individual liberty, world
peace
Common information
• 1/3 of world’s population
• about 31,500,000 km2
• flag – March 26, 1976
• Kamalesh Sharma - Secretary-General -
• the Head of Commonwealth - Elizabeth II
The House of Windsor
• Current Royal House of the United Kingdom and each of the other Commonwealth realms.
• Remains one of the few dynasties to have ruled over lands on all continents simultaneously.
• Current head: Elizabeth II
Origins
• Created from a British branch of a German royal house in 1917.
• German influence brought by Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert (the name of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha).
• Anti-German movement convinced the royal family to abandon all German titles and use the name Windsor instead.
• The name change helped to preserve the loyalty of the British people.
The line of Succession to the British Throne
• Prince Charles (age 60) • Prince William (age 26) • Prince Henry/Harry (age 24) • Prince Andrew (age 49) • Princess Beatrice (age 20) • Princess Eugenie (age 19) • The Prince Edward (age 45) • James Alexander Philip Theo Mountbatten
Windsor, Viscount Severn (age 1)
The Royal Family
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874-1965)
• A politician, a noted statesman, an orator, an officer, a historian, a Noble-Prize winner and an amateur artist
• Educated in Harrow, Royal Military College at Sandhurst
• 1895 - Joined the Fourth Hussars
• 1899 - Left the British Army and worked for the Morning Post
Served as Prime Minster of the UK
• from 1940 to 1945• again from 1951 to 1955
Was known for his leadership of the UK during World War II.
• Developed an united strategy with the USA and the Soviet Union
• Important meetings in Teheran (Nov. 1943) and Yalta (Feb. 1945)
Margaret Hilda Thatcher (1925 - )
• One of the dominant political figures of 20th century Britain
The only woman who has been
• The prime minister of the United Kingdom (1979 - 1990)
• The leader of the Conservative Party (1975 - 1990)
• Went to Oxford University, became a research chemist
• 1959 - became Conservative MP• 1974 - became the leader of the Conservative
party• 1979 - became the prime minister• 1984 - the IRA planted a bomb in Brighton• 1990 - resigned• 1992 - left the House of Commons for the House of Lords
British Parliament and Government today
The politics of the UK
• constitutional monarchy
• the Monarch is head of state (Elizabeth II)
• the Prime Minister is the head of government (Gordon Brown)
• the legislature – Parliament
• the executive – Prime Minister and Cabinet (Government)
The business of Parliament
• democratically elected house – the House of Commons, 646 members
• internally elected house – the House of Lords, 738 members
• meet in the Palace of Westminster, sometimes called the Houses of Parliament
The Palace of Westminster
Government
• formed by the party with majority support in the Commons.
• about 20 ministers make up the Cabinet
• the second largest party forms the official Opposition, „shadow cabinet”
Gordon Brown the head of government