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Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient
Lord Peter Alexander Rupert Carrington
LORD PETER ALEXANDER RUPERT CARRINGTON,
THE SIXTH BARON CARRINGTON
Awarded by
President Ronald Reagan
May 10, 1988
Foreign Secretary, Defense Minister, Parliamentary leader, and tank commander, Peter Alexander Rupert Carrington, the Sixth Baron Carrington, has proved himself the devoted servant of Her Majesty's government, a friend of the American people, and the faithful defender of human freedom.
As Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, his tireless efforts have at a critical moment in history strengthened the cause of peace and freedom for all humanity. For his selfless service the American people honor him and extend to him their gratitude and warmest affection.
President Ronald Reagan presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to outgoing NATO Secretary General Lord Peter Carrington during a White House ceremony May 10th. Carrington was recognized for maintaining allied solidarity that led to the first superpower arms accord in eight years.
Biography
B ritish statesman, born in London, England, UK. He trained at Sandhurst, winning the Military Cross in World War 2, and held several junior posts in government (1951--6), before becoming high commissioner to Australia (1956--9). He then served as First Lord of the Admiralty (1959--63) and Leader of the House of Lords (1963--4). He was secretary of state for defence (1970--4) and briefly for energy (1974), and also chairman of the Conservative Party (1972--4). Upon the Conservative return to office he was foreign secretary (1979--82), until he and his ministerial team resigned over the Argentinian invasion of the Falkland Is. He later became secretary-general of NATO (1984--8) and Chancellor of the University of Reading.
Carrington (of Upton), Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, (6th) Baron, Baron Carrington of Bulcot Lodge (b. June 6, 1919, London), British politician. In 1938 he inherited a peerage, a place in the House of Lords, and a title dating back to 1796. After service in World War II, he became a junior minister under Winston Churchill. He entered Alexander Douglas-Home's cabinet in 1963 and, after the Conservative defeat in the general election of 1964, led the opposition in the House of Lords. With the Conservatives back in power in 1970, he became defense secretary and, in the last days of the Edward Heath government, energy secretary. One of Heath's closest confidants, he was described as "Ted's troubleshooter." When a Conservative government under Margaret Thatcher was formed in 1979, Carrington became foreign secretary. His charm and diplomatic skills, not least with the prime minister herself, enabled him to achieve a negotiated independence for Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and an end to the bloody civil war there in 1979-80. He then turned his attention to the Middle East and at the same time sought negotiated solutions to Britain's residual colonial problems, which included the Falkland Islands. While his back was turned in April 1982, the Argentines invaded the Falklands. He resigned his post amid harsh criticism of his misreading of the intentions of the Argentine government. Carrington became secretary-general of NATO on June 25, 1984, and served until 1988. He emphasized the importance of communication with the Soviet Union, believing that issue to be central to the restoration of public confidence in NATO.
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Medal History
