Roy Harris Jenkins

Jenkins, Roy Harris (1920– ), British political leader. Elected to the House of Commons in 1948 as a Labour Party member, he served as minister of aviation, chancellor of the exchequer, and twice held the post of home secretary. He was president of the Commission of the European Community (1977–81). In the early 1980s he helped found the Social Democratic Party, a split from the Labour Party, and in 1982 he was elected to Parliament under the party's banner. He lost his seat in 1987.

See also: Parliament; United Kingdom.