Anthony Eden was born in Windlestone Hall in County Durham in 1897. He was educated at Eton.

In 1914, Eden volunteered for service in the British army. He served courageously on the Western Front, winning the Military Cross for leading a raid in 1916. He served on the Somme and at Third Ypres and became the youngest brigade major in the British army. Two of Eden’s brothers, Nicholas and John, were killed during the war.

After the war, Eden studied Oriental Languages at Oxford. A keen linguist, he was fluent in both German and French.

In 1922, Eden contested the seat of Spennymoore, but failed to win it. In 1923, he got another chance, contesting the seat of Warwick and Leamington in a by-election. This time, he won.

In the House of Commons, Eden demonstrated an interest in foreign affairs and defence. In 1931, Eden became a minister for the first time as an under-secretary for foreign affairs. In that position, he took part in the long Geneva disarmament conference in Geneva over 1932-34. The conference was a failure, but it gave Eden a great platform and he became a public figure for the first time.

During the year that followed, he helped to resolve the Saarland issue and also mediated between Yugoslavia and Hungary during a diplomatic crisis. These interventions earned Eden a reputation as a skilled diplomat. In 1935, aged just 38, Eden became Foreign Secretary in Baldwin’s government. Eden would be content in this position for the rest of Baldwin’s premiership.

However, though he remained Foreign Secretary, Eden became increasingly frustrated when Neville Chamberlain became Prime Minister. Chamberlain was much more interested in foreign affairs. He soon clashed with Chamberlain over policy towards Italy – Chamberlain’s policy was appeasement while Eden believed that detaching Italy from Germany mattered more. In February 1938, Eden resigned.

The act caught the attention of Winston Churchill, though Eden remained aloof from Churchill’s more stridently anti-appeasement stance.

When the Second World War broke out, Chamberlain brought Eden back into government as Dominion Secretary, and a year later Churchill made Eden Foreign Secretary again.  He was impressed by Eden, and he told George VI that if anything were to happen to him, Eden should replace him as Prime Minister. Eden was made Leader of the House of Commons as well in 1942. Churchill told Eden that he would stand aside at the end of the war, allowing Eden to inherit the premiership.

Eden became seriously ill in mid-1945.  That year, the Conservatives were heavily defeated in the general election. Churchill chose to hang on, continuing to lead the party in opposition, and then back into power in 1951. He made Eden Foreign Secretary, again. Once again, Eden conducted impressive diplomacy, with an armistice in Korea, a ceasefire in Indochina, and problems settled in Persia and (albeit temporarily) Egypt.

However, in 1953 Eden had an operation for gallstones, which went badly wrong. He had to travel to the United States for lifesaving surgery. He was out of action for months, including during one of Churchill’s most serious strokes.

Churchill finally made way for Eden in 1955. Eden quickly won a general election soon afterwards, increasing the Conservative majority.

However, today Eden is largely remembered for his role in the Suez Crisis. He took Britain to war in attempt to resist Egyptian leader Colonel Nasser’s nationalisation of the Suez Canal. Though the military operation was a success, the international reaction was furious, with Britain condemned by the UN General Assembly and shunned by its American allies. For the first time, it was clear that Britain could not behave as a great power anymore. Eden desisted from the operation soon afterwards and resigned in early 1957 due to ill health.

Eden lived for another 20 years. He published memoirs detailing his long political career and justifying his actions in 1956. He also became the Earl of Avon, sitting in the House of Lords until his death in 1977.