7 The 100 Most Influential World Leaders of All Time 7the United Kingdom (1940–45, 1951–55), rallying the
British people during World War II and leading his coun-
try from the brink of defeat to victory.
Political Career before 1939
After graduation from the Royal Military College at
Sandhurst and service as a subaltern (1895– 99) and war
correspondent in Cuba, India, and South Africa, Churchill
entered politics as a Conservative and won a seat in
Parliament in 1900. In 1904, however, he broke with his
party, joined the Liberals, and in 1906 became undersecre-
tary of state for the colonies in a Liberal government. In
1908 Churchill became a member of the Cabinet, first
holding the post of president of the Board of Trade and
later that of home secretary. Transferred to the Admiralty
in 1911, he strengthened the British navy. But after World
War I broke out, and after the failure of the Dardanelles
expedition he had promoted, Churchill resigned from his
post with the Admiralty and served as an active military
officer from 1915 to 1916. He returned to Parliament as a
private member in 1916, then as minister of munitions
(1917–18).
After the war, Churchill, while serving as secretary of
war (1919 –21), as head of the Colonial Office (1921–22), and
chancellor of the Exchequer (1924–29), became increas-
ingly conservative. By 1931, when a national government
was formed, Churchill had arrived at a point where he was
distrusted by every party. He was thought to lack judg-
ment and stability and was regarded as a guerrilla fighter
impatient of discipline.
In this situation Churchill found relief, as well as profit,
in writing. But he had mounting anxiety about the grow-
ing menace of Adolf Hitler’s Germany. Before a passive