Harold Alexander
Field Marshal Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis (10 December 1891 – 16 June 1969) was a British Army officer who served in both of the world wars. Alexander was born in London and was educated at Harrow school before moving on to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, for training as an army officer of the Irish Guards. He rose to military prominence through his service in the First World War, and continued his career through various British campaigns across Europe and Asia during the interwar period.
In the Second World War, Alexander, initially in command of a division, oversaw the final stages of the Allied evacuation from Dunkirk and subsequently held field commands in Britain, Burma, North Africa and Italy, including serving as Commander-in-Chief Middle East and commanding the 18th Army Group in Tunisia. He then commanded the 15th Army Group for the capture of Sicily and again in Italy before being promoted to field marshal and being made Supreme Allied Commander Mediterranean in late 1944.
In 1946, after being created Viscount Alexander of Tunis, he was appointed as Governor General of Canada by King George VI, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Canada, William Lyon Mackenzie King, to replace the Earl of Athlone as viceroy. In 1952, he was elevated in the British peerage, becoming Earl Alexander of Tunis, and was succeeded by Vincent Massey as Governor General of Canada. Alexander proved to be enthusiastic about the Canadian wilderness and popular with Canadians. He was the last Governor General who was born in the United Kingdom as well as the last Governor General to be a peer.
After the end of his viceregal tenure, Alexander was sworn into the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and thereafter, in order to serve as the British Minister of Defence in the Cabinet of Winston Churchill, into the Imperial Privy Council. Alexander retired in 1954 and died in 1969.
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