Lord Home

Background and position

Alec Douglas-Home was Foreign Secretary from 1960 to 1963 and sat in the House of Lords as the Earl of Home. Earlier posts included Commonwealth Secretary. His responsibilities in October were Britain’s foreign relations and diplomatic response, alongside Macmillan’s direct contact with Kennedy.

Role in October 1962

Alec Douglas-Home, then serving as Lord Home, worked on Britain’s response to the confrontation. His communication discussed with Dean Rusk in November explored its wider implications. The immediate American advantage around Cuba offered no simple model for handling every other Cold War dispute.

British diplomacy had to consider the confrontation’s consequences beyond the Caribbean. Home’s message discussed with Rusk after the crisis addressed whether the outcome offered lessons for dealing with the Soviet Union elsewhere. Local American superiority around Cuba could not simply be assumed in Europe.

Why their role matters

He succeeded Macmillan as prime minister in October 1963 and gave up his peerage, becoming Sir Alec Douglas-Home. For the events of October 1962, “Lord Home” is the contemporary name and Foreign Secretary is the relevant office; he was not yet prime minister.

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