R. A. BUTLER

• Born: December 9, 1902
• Died: March 8, 1982
• Nationality: British
• Profession: Politician

Richard Austen Butler, Baron Butler of Saffron Walden, KG, CH, PC, DL, also known as R. A. Butler and familiarly known from his initials as Rab, was a prominent British Conservative politician. The Times obituary called him "the creator of the modern educational system, the key-figure in the revival of post-war Conservatism, arguably the most successful chancellor since the war and unquestionably a Home Secretary of reforming zeal." He was one of his party's leaders in promoting the post-war consensus through which the major parties largely agreed on the main points of domestic policy until the 1970s, sometimes known as "Butskellism" from a fusion of his name with that of his Labour counterpart Hugh Gaitskell.