Lord Callaghan's career in British politics is unique. Starting in humble circumstances, he entered parliament at a young age and went on to hold all the major political offices—Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and, for three tumultuous years from 1976 to 1979, Prime Minister of Great Britain. Drawing on previously unused sources, this book covers every aspect of Callaghan's career and sets it against the background of recent British history. Kenneth O. Morgan, a leading authority on contemporary Britain, sheds new light on Callaghan's involvement in a wide range of issues, from the devaluation of the pound and the troubles in Northern Ireland, to Britain's entry into the European Community. Morgan also provides new information on Callaghan's relations with world leaders such as Ford, Kissinger, Carter, and Schmidt—and with the major figures in British politics and public life. This is the first full biography of Callaghan to be published. Morgan employs much untapped primary material, as well as hitherto confidential interviews, to illuminate Callaghan's life, the history of the Labour Party, and many other aspects of British politics from the 1930s to the present.