Personnel Profile
Duff Cooper
First Lord of the Admiralty
Duff Cooper served as First Lord of the Admiralty in the later 1930s, when the Royal Navy was rearming in response to renewed international danger. His office belonged to the political revival of naval preparedness before the Second World War.
The role of First Lord in this period required close coordination with the service leadership on procurement, priorities, and strategic direction. Cooper’s ministerial tenure formed part of Britain’s naval response to worsening European tensions.
He is significant because he belongs to the political history of pre-war naval rearmament. Cooper stands in the ministerial lead-up to the Second World War.