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James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 - 24 May 1995) was one of the most prominent British politicians of the 20th century. He emerged as Prime Minister after more General Elections than any other 20th century Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, with majorities of 4 in 1964, 98 in 1966 and 5 in October 1974, and with enough seats to form a minority government in February 1974. He is the most recent British Prime Minister to serve non-consecutive terms. Harold Wilson first served as prime minister in the 1960's, during a period of low unemployment and relative economic prosperity (though also of significant problems with the UK's external balance of payments). His second term in office occurred during the seventies, when a period of economic crisis was beginning to hit most Western countries. On both occasions, economic concerns were to prove a significant constraint on his governments' ambitions. Although originating from the left wing of the Labour Party, Wilson's brand of socialism placed emphasis on promoting social justice (including through better educational opportunities), allied to the technocratic aim of taking better advantage of rapid scientific progress, rather than on the left's traditional goal of promoting wider public ownership of industry. While he did not challenge the Party constitution's stated dedication to nationalization head-on, he took little action to pursue it either, suggesting that he may have viewed some of the old ideas of the Left as being of limited relevance. Wilson managed a number of difficult political issues with considerable tactical skill, but his ambition of substantially improving Britain's long-term economic performance remained largely unfulfilled.
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