ABSTRACT
Acareer British statesman, Arthur Balfour shaped Great Britain's relations with the United States and Europe and was the author of the Balfour Declaration, which encouraged the establishment of a Jewish state. He was educated at Cambridge University, where he took an interest in philosophy. Under the patronage of his uncle, Member of Parliament Lord Salisbury, Balfour followed his father's footsteps and was elected to Parliament in 1874 as a Conservative. Balfour became prime minister in 1891. He created the Committee of Imperial Defence to prepare for possible war with Germany; he also signed the so-called Entente Cordiale with France in 1904, which eventually became an alliance with both France and Russia. Arthur Balfour's leadership in the early years of the twentieth century helped to prepare Great Britain for the harsh demands of waging World War I. Many Israelis see the Balfour Declaration as the crucial turning point in the creation of the state of Israel.
