William Hare, 5th Earl of Listowel

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William Francis Hare, 5th Earl of Listowel GCMG PC (28 September 1906 – 12 March 1997) was a British hereditary peer and Labour politician.

The eldest son of 4th Earl of Listowel and the Hon. Freda Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone, he was educated at Eton College and at Balliol College, Oxford. He succeeded his father in 1931.

He served as a Lieutenant in the Intelligence Corps. He was a Labour Member of London County Council for East Lewisham from 1937-1946, and for Battersea North from 1952-1957. He served as Labour Party Whip in House of Lords from 1941-1944. He was Deputy Leader of the House of Lords, 1944-1945 and held ministerial office as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, India Office, Postmaster-General from 1945-1947, Secretary of State for India from April to August 1947, Secretary of State for Burma from 1947-January 1948, Minister of State for Colonial Affairs from 1948-1950; and Joint Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, 1950-1951. He then served as Governor-General of Ghana from 1957-1960. He was Chairman of Committees in the House of Lords, 1965-1976.

He was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1946 and awarded the GCMG in 1957.

Listowel is in County Kerry in the Republic of Ireland. The Earl's title, being British, is generally not recognised, either within the locality or the Irish legal system. Since the formation of the Republic, British peerages associated with Irish locations have traditionally been ignored by the Irish people and their continued association with the British House of Lords is often regarded as an affront.

Political offices
Preceded by: Earl of Munster	Under-Secretary of State for India 1944–1945	Succeeded by: Earl of Scarbrough
Preceded by: Harry Crookshank	Postmaster-General 1945–1947	Succeeded by: Wilfred Paling
Preceded by: The Lord Pethick-Lawrence	Secretary of State for India and Burma April–August 1947	Succeeded by: Office abolished
Preceded by: New office	Secretary of State for Burma August 1947–January 1948	Succeeded by: Office abolished
Preceded by: Charles Noble Arden-Clarke	Governor-General of Ghana 1957–1960	Succeeded by: Office abolished and replaced by the President of Ghana
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by: Richard Granville Hare	Earl of Listowel 1931-1997	Succeeded by: Francis Michael Hare