Clement Richard Attlee Attlee, Clement Richard, 1st Earl Attlee (1883-1967), British statesman, who was the head of his country's first majority Labour government. He was born in London. From 1935 to 1940, as head of the Labour Party, Attlee was leader of the opposition in Parliament. In the coalition Cabinets organized during World War II (1939-1945), Attlee served under Prime Minister Winston Churchill in various posts. In 1945 he succeeded Churchill as prime minister in a surprising landslide victory. He began to carry out the program of the Labour Party, which included nationalizing the iron and