British statesman. Born in Liverpool and educated at Oxford, Samuel turned to politics as a profession. He was elected to Parliament in 1902, became a member of the British Cabinet in 1909, and became Secretary of State for Home Affairs in 1916. From 1931 to 1935, he served as leader of the Liberal Party in the House of Commons. He was knighted and, in 1937, he was made a viscount as a reward for his public services. Samuel’s connection with Zionism began in the early stages of the World War I. He aided in the preliminary negotiations between Zionist leaders and the British government which resulted in the Balfour Declaration. In 1920, he was appointed first High Commissioner of Palestine under the British Mandate. During Samuel’s five years in this office, his efforts to serve as an impartial British administrator failed to please the Arabs or Jews. He became member of the Jewish Agency for Palestine in 1929. Samuel was a member of the British Institute of Philosophy and the author of such books as Philosophy and the Ordinary Man and Liberalism: Its Principles and Proposals.