Former British Prime Minister Edward Heath Dies at Age 89

Mr. Heath's initial inquiry exonerated the soldiers, galvanizing Catholic rage.

During his tenure, protesters with terrific precision threw ink, paint and a sack of flour on him.

Losing national office in 1974 after years of rapid rise was said to have devastated Mr. Heath. He turned down Thatcher's offer to become Britain's ambassador to Washington and gave a series of cranky and quotable interviews.

Asked in 1992 about the Thatcher administration's most commendable act, he replied: "That she's gone."

Brooding of manner in the House, he surprised many with occasional bursts of collegiality. He was a bon vivant who hosted lavish parties and loved conducting symphony orchestras and sailing.

As skipper of the Morning Cloud, he led the English yachting team to victory during the 1971 Admiral's Cup ocean race. At home, he surrounded himself with fine paintings and a grand piano -- possessions he never enjoyed as a child.

Edward Richard George Heath was born in Broadstairs in the southeastern county of Kent. His father was a builder, his mother a ladies' maid who encouraged her son's interest in classical piano.

He won an organ scholarship to Balliol College at Oxford University, and his interests grew to include debate (he was president of the Oxford Union) and Conservative politics.

As head of Oxford's conservative association, he criticized Tory Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain for his ill-fated policy of appeasement toward Adolph Hitler.

Mr. Heath had hitchhiked throughout Europe to attend music festivals and, once, at a Nuremberg rally in 1937, he brushed shoulders with Hitler.

After graduation, he joined the Royal Artillery and rose to second-in-command of an artillery company that fought in Europe.

"I think my views on Europe have always been colored by my experiences during the war," he told the Times of London in 1996. "Those of us who did fight have been determined ever since that this wasn't going to be allowed to happen again."