Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, 6th Baron Carrington
Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, 6th Baron Carrington of Upton KG GCMG CH MC PC JP DL (born June 6, 1919) was British Foreign Secretary (1979-1982) and Secretary-General of NATO (1984-1988).His family surname is spelled Carington (single 'r'), whilst the hereditary peerage is Carrington (double 'r').
Educated at Eton and RMA Sandhurst, he served as a major in the Grenadier Guards in the Second World War.
He had an unbroken run of consecutive government positions for over 30 years, serving as Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry for Agriculture and Food from November 1951, then for the Ministry of Defence from October 1954 to October 1956. He was High Commissioner to Australia from then until October 1959, First Lord of the Admiralty until October 1963, then Leader of the House of Lords for a year until October 1964, when the Conservativess fell from power, becoming Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords until 1970 and again from 1974 until 1979.
In between these times he was Defence Secretary, and then, for a month from January to February 1974, Secretary of State for Energy. In 1979 he was made Foreign Secretary as part of the first Cabinet of Margaret Thatcher, being in this post when the Falkland Islands were invaded by Argentina, over which he resigned.
He also served as Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1972 to 1974, and as Secretary-General of NATO from 1983 to 1988. He was made Chancellor of Reading University in 1992, and has served as chairman of several companies, including Christies, and as a director of many others, including Barclays Bank and Schweppes.
He was made a life peer in 1999 so that he could continue to sit in the House of Lords. His life peerage title is Baron Carington of Upton (with one 'r').
On 25 April, 1942, he married Iona McClean.
| Preceded by: Denis Healey | Secretary of State for Defence 1970-1974 | Followed by: Ian Gilmour |
| Preceded by: David Owen | Foreign Secretary 1979-1982 | Followed by: Francis Pym |
| Preceded by: Rupert Carrington | Baron Carrington | Followed by: Current Incumbent |