Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/Profumo affair

Profumo affair

 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of the TFAR nomination of the article below. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/requests). Please do not modify this page unless you are renominating the article at TFAR. For renominations, please add   to the top of the discussion and   at the bottom, then complete a new TFAR nom underneath.

The result was: scheduled for Today's featured article/August 9, 2014 by BencherliteTalk 22:55, 22 July 2014 (UTC)



The Profumo affair was a 1963 British political scandal that originated with a sexual liaison between John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan's government, and Christine Keeler, a 19-year-old would-be model. Profumo originally denied any impropriety, but in June 1963   admitted the truth  and  resigned from parliament in disgrace. Concern was heightened by Keeler's alleged simultaneous involvement with Yevgeny Ivanov, a suspected Soviet spy, thus creating a possible security risk at the height of the Cold War. Keeler knew both Profumo and Ivanov through her mentor, Stephen Ward, an osteopath and socialite. After the scandal broke, Ward's private life was investigated, and he was convicted of  immorality offences. He took a fatal overdose during the final stages of his trial, which has since been perceived as an act of Establishment revenge, rather than as serving justice. In January 2014 the case was under review by the Criminal Cases Review Commission. Profumo redeemed himself by a long period as a volunteer worker in London's East End; he died, honoured and respected, in 2006. The repercussions of the affair contributed to Macmillan's resignation in October 1963, and to the Conservative party's defeat in the 1964 general election.
 * Most recent similar article(s):
 * Main editors: Brianboulton
 * Promoted: 2014
 * Reasons for nomination: Badly behaving politicians, and establishment scapegoating, are by no mean new.
 * Support as nominator. Brianboulton (talk) 16:33, 17 July 2014 (UTC)
 * Support A pity there is no picture; I'll get a chair and then upload one. (Why would we want a picture of a chair? Come on, stay with me, I'm offering saucy 10x8s) Belle (talk) 16:46, 17 July 2014 (UTC)
 * Support —Cliftonian (talk) 17:11, 17 July 2014 (UTC)
 * Support, reviewed FAC, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 20:40, 17 July 2014 (UTC)