Alec Douglas-Home

First elected to the House of Commons in 1931, served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Neville Chamberlain (1935-40). He lost his seat in the Labour Party landslide of 1945 and regained it at the next election. But his father the 13th Earl died in 1951, just a year after Alec regained his seat in the House. As a result, he had to resign and join the House of Lords of the 14th Earl of Home (which is pronounced "Hume"). Created a KT (Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Thistle) in 1962, the next year saw him chosen Prime Minister after his predecessor, Harold Macmillan, resigned due to ill health. The Peerage Act of 1963 allowed him to give up his title and, after a by-election, return to the House of Commons representing a new constituency. 15 months as PM was followed by a narrow defeat in the 1964 General Election. He spent 6 years in opposition, before becoming Foreign Secretary in Edward Heath's 1970 government. After 4 years, Heath was defeated in two elections within a year and Home accepted a life peerage, and returned to the House of Lords as Lord Home of the Hirsel. He died in 1995, and was succeeded as 15th Earl of Home by his son, David Douglas-Home.