GEOFFREY (BARON HOWE OF ABERAVON) HOWE - FIRST DAY COVER SIGNED - HFSID 343704

GEOFFREY HOWE
The British politician signs on this First Day Cover honoring the United States Bicentennial
First Day Cover Signed: "Howe" in blue ink. 6½x3½. First Day Cover honoring the US Bicentennial, postmarked Lexington, Massachusetts, April 19, 1975. 10c stamp affixed. FIRST DAY OF ISSUE. Geoffrey Howe (1926-2015) was a Conservative Member of the British Parliament from 1964 to 1992. He assumed his first Cabinet post, Minister of State for Trade and Industry, under Prime Minister Heath (1972-1974), and vied with Margaret Thatcher in the Conservative Party's leadership election of 1975. When Thatcher became Prime Minister, Howe served throughout her first term as Chancellor of the Exchequer, implementing free-market economic policies similar to Reagan's in the US, but with much greater emphasis on deficit reduction. Following Thatcher's re-election in 1983, he became Foreign Secretary, serving in that office through 1989. In the latter year, after increasingly public disagreements with Thatcher over relations with the European Community, he was moved to the positions of Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council - still powerful positions, but seen as something of a demotion. He received a lifetime peerage as Baron Howe of Aberavon in 1992, becoming very active in his new seat in the House of Lords. He published his memoirs in 1994. Toned. Corners rounded. Ink lines drawn through stamp. Otherwise, fine condition.