Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, (16 April 1881 – 23 December 1959), styled
Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and
Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was one of the most senior British
Conservative politicians of the 1930s. He held several senior ministerial posts during this time, most notably those of
Viceroy of India from 1925 to 1931 and of
Foreign Secretary between 1938 and 1940. He is regarded as one of the architects of the policy of
appeasement prior to the
Second World War, during which he served as
British Ambassador in Washington.