Graham James

James Graham (June 1, 1792, Nayworth, Cumberland - October 25, 1861, Netherby, ibid.) - British politician, minister, publicist, son of the baronet.

He was educated at Westminster and Oxford. Soon after completing his studies, he went on a long trip abroad and during that time became the personal secretary of the British Minister in Sicily . Returning to England in 1818, he was elected to Parliament from Ghul County, joining the Whig party , but was subsequently defeated in the elections in 1820. In 1824, he inherited the title of baronet, in 1826 he managed to re-elect from Carlisle in parliament, but soon began to represent the county of Cumberland in parliament. In the same year he published a pamphlet called “Corn and Currency”, thanks to which he gained great fame in liberal circles for his then considered progressive views; as a deputy, he became one of the most energetic advocates in the Reform Bill Parliament.

After the creation of the government of Count Gray, he received the post of First Lord of the Admiralty (in fact - the naval minister) with the right to participate in cabinet meetings. From 1832 to 1837 he was again (retaining a ministerial post) a deputy in the eastern part of Cumberland County. In 1834, due to disagreements with the government on the issue of the Irish Church, he resigned from his ministerial position and eventually became a member of the Conservative Party . In the 1837 elections, his former supporters in Cumberland did not support him, but in 1838 he was elected to Parliament from Pembroke, and in 1841 - Dorchester. In the same year, he took up the post of Minister of the Interior in the government of Robert Peel , who retained it until 1846. In this position, he became the object of strong hatred of a significant part of the population of Scotland for its policy of "intransigence" on the issue of the Scottish church, which ultimately ended in the "rupture" of the churches of 1843; the detention and opening of many private letters at post offices, carried out on his order in 1844 in connection with these events, led to a wave of public indignation, the effect of which was only slightly mitigated by the positive report of the parliamentary commission of inquiry.

From 1846 to 1852, he did not hold any posts in the state, but in 1852 he entered the government of Lord Aberdeen , taking the post of naval minister, being in this position also for a short time in the office of Palmerston in 1855. When a special committee was established during the Crimean War to investigate the circumstances of the war, he decided to leave political life. In the last years of his life, Graham remained a member of parliament (re-elected in 1859), not holding an official post in the government, and retained a significant influence on the position of parliament on various issues.

The Graham Land in Antarctica is named after him.