Arthur Michael Samuel, 1st Baron Mancroft (6 December 1872 - 17 August 1942), was a British Conservative politician.
Lord Mancroft was the eldest son of Benjamin Samuel of Norwich (April 19, 1840 – April 16, 1890) and Rosetta Haldinstein (died April 29, 1907, daughter of Philip Haldinstein and wife Rachel Soman), and grandson of Michael Samuel (1799-1857), all of them Ashkenazi Jews. He was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School, Norwich.[1] He was Lord Mayor of Norwich from 1912 to 1913 and was made an Honorary Freeman of the City of Norwich in 1928. In 1918 he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Farnham, a seat he would hold until 1937, and served under Stanley Baldwin as Secretary for Overseas Trade from 1924 to 1927 and as Financial Secretary to the Treasury from 1927 to 1929. He was also Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Commons in 1930 and 1931. Samuel was created a Baronet, of Norwich in the County of Norfolk, in 1932 and in 1937 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Mancroft, of Mancroft in the City of Norwich.
Lord Mancroft married Phoebe Fletcher, daughter of George Alfred Chune Fletcher and wife, in 1912. He died in August 1942, aged 69, and was succeeded in the baronetcy and barony by his son Stormont Mancroft, 2nd Baron Mancroft. He was also to become a Conservative government minister.
The papers of the 1st Lord Mancroft are in the Churchill Archives Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge.[2]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by (new constituency) |
Member of Parliament for Farnham 1918–1937 |
Succeeded by Godfrey Nicholson |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by William Lunn |
Secretary for Overseas Trade 1924–1927 |
Succeeded by Douglas Hacking |
| Preceded by Ronald McNeill |
Financial Secretary to the Treasury 1927–1929 |
Succeeded by Frederick Pethick-Lawrence |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by New creation |
Baron Mancroft 1937–1942 |
Succeeded by Stormont Mancroft Samuel Mancroft |