(1863–1945)
a British Liberal politician of Welsh parents, who was Prime Minister of Britain from 1916 to 1922. As Chancellor of the Exchequer (1908–15) he introduced pensions (1908) and National Insurance (1911), two important elements of the modern welfare state . He became Prime Minister during World War I , but after the war Conservative opposition to his policy of Irish independence forced him to resign. He remained in Parliament for the rest of his life, but neither he nor the Liberal Party ever returned to power. He was made an earl (1) shortly before his death in 1945.