John Foster (British politician)

Brigadier Sir John Galway Foster KBE (4 November 1904 – 1 February 1982) was a British Conservative Party politician, British Army officer and legal scholar. He served as Member of Parliament for the Northwich constituency in Cheshire from 1945 to February 1974, and was Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations from 1951 to 1954.

John Galway Foster was born 4 November 1904 into the family of Hubert John Foster and Mary Agatha Foster (née Tobin). His father was a British Army officer who served as Chief of the Australian General Staff from 1916 to 1917 during the First World War. Miriam Rothschild, who knew John well for many years, writes that he had a "lonely, confused and homeless childhood." Rather than care for or relate to their son, his parents "abandoned [him] to the care of a governess, first in France and then at school in Germany." Apparently, the governess was harsh, strict, and unloving.

John Foster was a scholar of Eton College and achieved a first in modern history at New College, Oxford in 1924. He was elected a Fellow of All Souls the same year. He then entered the study of law and was called to the Bar by Inner Temple in 1927.

He was appointed Recorder of Dudley (1936–38) and Recorder of Oxford (1938–51 & 1956–64). He lectured on private International Law at Oxford (1934–39) and The Hague. In 1939, he was in the United States and volunteered his services to the British Embassy. He was immediately appointed First Secretary and legal advisor. During this period, the United States was still a non-belligerent, and President Roosevelt faced many difficult problems related to the international law of neutrality. Foster played a significant behind-the-scenes role working on neutrality issues related to the Destroyer-for-Bases deal in 1940 and the Lend Lease Act in 1941.

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