Edward Montagu Cavendish Stanley, Lord Stanley, (9 July 1894 – 16 October 1938) was a British Conservative politician. The eldest son of the 17th Earl of Derby, he held minor political office before being appointed Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs in 1938, sitting in the cabinet alongside his brother Oliver Stanley. However, Stanley died only five months after this appointment, aged 44; his eldest son, Edward John Stanley, later succeeded to the earldom in his stead. Background and education Stanley was born in Marylebone, London, the eldest son and heir apparent of Edward Stanley, later to become 17th Earl of Derby, by Lady Alice Montagu. He was spectacularly well-connected to leading political families. His father was at the time of Stanley's birth Conservative MP for Westhoughton, Lancashire, and went on to serve as Secretary of State for War from 1916 to 1918 and from 1922 to 1924. His paternal grandfather, the 16th Earl of Derby, was a former Lancashire MP, Colonial Secretary, and Governor-General of Canada. His great-uncle, the 15th Earl, twice served as Foreign Secretary and was Prime Minister Lord Salisbury's stepfather, while his best-known ancestor was his great-grandfather, the 14th Earl, who was Leader of the Conservative Party for 22 years (1846–1868; the longest tenure in that office) and Prime Minister three times (1852, 1858–59, and 1866–68). His paternal grandmother, Lady Constance Villiers, was daughter of Lord Clarendon, who himself served on three occasions as Foreign Secretary. Lord Stanley's paternal uncles Sir Arthur and Sir George also served as Conservative MPs. His maternal grandfather was William Montagu, 7th Duke of Manchester, also a Conservative peer and MP. His maternal grandmother Louisa von Alten married after the death of the Duke of Manchester, Spencer, Duke of Devonshire, also known as Lord Hartington, who for a time (before inheriting his peerage) was Leader of the Liberal Party in the House of Commons. His sister Victoria married Neil Primrose, the son of Liberal Prime Minister Lord Rosebery. Oliver Stanley was his younger brother, and his son Richard became an MP. He became known by the courtesy title Lord Stanley in 1908, when his father succeeded in the earldom of Derby. He was educated at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford. Military career Lord Stanley was commissioned a second lieutenant on 2 July 1914. He was promoted to temporary lieutenant in the Grenadier Guards on 15 November 1914, later with seniority from