Churchill, Sir Winston Leonard Spencer
1874-1965, British statesman(estadista), soldier, and author; son of Lord
Randolph Churchill. |
The Postwar Period
The British nation supported the vigorous program of Churchill's coalition
cabinet until after the surrender(rendición)
of Germany. Then in July, 1945, Britain's
desire for rapid social reform led(llevó)
to a Labour electoral victory, and
Churchill became leader of the opposition. In 1946, on a visit to the United
States, he made a controversial speech(conferencia)
at Fulton, Mo., in which he warned(advirtió)
of
the expansive tendencies of the USSR (he had distrusted(desconfiado
de)
the Soviet
government since its inception(comienzo), when he had been a leading advocate of
Western intervention to overthrow(derrocar) it) and coined(acuñó)
the expression “Iron
Curtain(cortina de hierro).”
As prime minister again from 1951 until his resignation(dimisión)
in 1955, he ended
nationalization of the steel(acero)
and auto industries but maintained most other
socialist measures instituted by the Labour government. In 1953 Churchill
was knighted(nombrado caballero), and awarded(galardonado
con)
the 1953 Nobel Prize in Literature for his writing
and oratory. He retained(mantuvo, retuvo)
a seat in Parliament until 1964. He refused a
peerage(título nobiliario), but his widow(viuda), Clementine Ogilvy Hozier (married 1908), accepted
one in 1965 for her charitable work(obras benéficas).
3. Character and influence
Churchill was undoubtedly(indudablemente) one of
the greatest public figures(una de los personasjes públicos más
grandes) of the 20th century. Extraordinary vitality(vitalidad),
imagination, and boldness(audacia, atrevimiento)
characterized his whole career(toda su carrera).
His weaknesses(debilidades), such as his opposition
(except in the case of Ireland) to the expansion of colonial
self-government, and his strengths(puntos fuertes),
evidenced by his brilliant war leadership(liderazgo),
sprang(brotaron) from the same source—the will(deseo,
voluntad) to maintain Britain as a great power and a great
democracy. |