Born January 3, 1883
Putney, England
Died October 8, 1967
London, England

British prime minister

Clement Attlee was Britain's top leader from 1945 to 1951. Both before and after serving as prime minister, Attlee headed the British Labour Party, from 1935 to 1940 and from 1951 to 1955. The rise of the Labour Party made the British government a two-party system; the second party was the Conservative Party. Attlee substantially changed Britain's economic and political role in the world by dismantling the British Empire and bringing socialism, in the form of a national welfare system, to Britain. Socialism is a system in which the government owns or controls all means of production and all citizens share in the work and products. Operated by the national government, a national welfare system provides financial help and other forms of assistance to poor and needy...