Oswald Mosley

The Right Honourable Sir Oswald Mosley Bt
Mosley in 1922
Leader of the British Union of Fascists[n 1]
In office 1 October 1932 – 10 July 1940
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office 7 June 1929 – 19 May 1930
Prime Minister	Ramsay MacDonald
Preceded by	Ronald McNeill
Succeeded by	Clement Attlee
Member of Parliament for Smethwick
In office 21 December 1926 – 7 October 1931
Preceded by	John Davison
Succeeded by	Roy Wise
Member of Parliament for Harrow
In office 14 December 1918 – 9 October 1924
Preceded by	Harry Mallaby-Deeley
Succeeded by	Sir Isidore Salmon
Personal details
Born	Oswald Ernald Mosley 16 November 1896 Mayfair, London, England
Died	3 December 1980(1980-12-03) (aged 84) Orsay, Essonne, France
Political party	British Union of Fascists (1932–1940)
Other political affiliations	Conservative (1918–1922) Independent (1922–1924) Labour (1924–1931) New (1931–1932) Union Movement (1948–1973) National Party of Europe (1962–1980)
Spouse(s)	Lady Cynthia Curzon ​ ​ (m. 1920; died 1933)​ Hon. Diana Mitford ​ (m. 1936)​
Children	5, including Nicholas and Max Mosley
Parent	Sir Oswald Mosley, 5th Baronet
Education	Winchester College
Alma mater	Royal Military College, Sandhurst
Military service
Allegiance	British Empire
Branch/service	British Army 16th The Queen's Lancers Royal Flying Corps
Years of service	1914–1918
Rank	Lieutenant
Battles/wars	First World War Second Battle of Ypres Battle of Loos
Awards	1914–15 Star British War Medal Victory Medal

Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980), was a British aristocrat and politician who rose to fame during the 1920s and 1930s when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Harrow from 1918 to 1924 and for Smethwick from 1926 to 1931. He founded the British Union of Fascists (BUF) in 1932 and led it until its forced disbandment in 1940.^{[1][2][3][n 1]}

After military service during the First World War, Mosley became the youngest sitting member of Parliament, representing Harrow from 1918, first as a member of the Conservative Party, then an independent, and finally joining the Labour Party. At the 1924 general election he stood in Birmingham Ladywood against the future prime minister Neville Chamberlain, coming within 100 votes of defeating him. Mosley returned to Parliament as the Labour MP for Smethwick at a by-election in 1926 and served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the Labour government of 1929–1931. In 1928, he succeeded his father as the sixth Mosley baronet, a title in his family for over a century.^[4] Some considered Mosley a rising star and a possible future prime minister.^[5] He resigned in 1930 over discord with the government's unemployment policies. He chose not to defend his Smethwick constituency at the 1931 general election, instead unsuccessfully standing in Stoke-on-Trent.

Mosley's New Party became the British Union of Fascists (BUF) in 1932. As its leader, he publicly espoused antisemitism and sought alliances with Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. Fascist violence under Mosley's leadership culminated in the Battle of Cable Street in 1936, during which anti-fascist demonstrators including trade unionists, liberals, socialists, communists, anarchists, and British Jews prevented the BUF from marching through the East End of London. Mosley subsequently held a series of rallies around London, and the BUF increased its membership there.^[6][7]

In May 1940, after the outbreak of the Second World War, Mosley was imprisoned and the BUF was made illegal. He was released in 1943 and, politically disgraced by his association with fascism, moved abroad in 1951, spending most of the remainder of his life in Paris and two residences in Ireland. He stood for Parliament during the post-war era but received very little support. During this period he was an advocate of pan-European nationalism, developing the Europe a Nation ideology,^{[8][page needed]} and was an early proponent of Holocaust-denial conspiracy theories."^{[9][10][page needed]}

In 1939, Mosley was implicated in a fascist conspiracy organized by the Right Club against the British government by Archibald Maule Ramsay, albeit all evidence indicates that he soon distanced himself from them, viewing the group and its aims as too extreme.^[11]

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