Editing William Whitelaw (section)

===Heath government, 1970–1974===
When the Conservatives returned to power in 1970 under [[Edward Heath]], Whitelaw was made [[Lord President of the Council]] and [[Leader of the House of Commons]], with a seat in the cabinet.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=45134|date=23 June 1970|page=6953}}</ref> Upon the imposition of direct rule in March 1972, he became the first [[Secretary of State for Northern Ireland]], serving in that capacity until November 1973. During his time in Northern Ireland he introduced [[Special Category Status]] for paramilitary prisoners. He attempted to negotiate with the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]], meeting its Chief of Staff [[Seán Mac Stiofáin]] in July 1972. The talks ended in an agreement to change from a seven-day truce to an open-ended truce; however, this did not last long. As a briefing for prime minister Heath later noted, Whitelaw "found the experience of meeting and talking to Mr Mac Stíofáin very unpleasant". Mac Stiofáin in his memoir complimented Whitelaw, saying he was the only Englishman ever to pronounce his name in Irish correctly.<ref>MacStiofáin, Seán ''Revolutionary in Ireland'', pp. 281–89.</ref>

In 1973, Whitelaw left Northern Ireland—shortly before the [[Sunningdale Agreement]] was reached—to become [[Secretary of State for Employment]], and confronted the [[National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain)|National Union of Mineworkers]] over its pay demands. This dispute was followed by the Conservative Party losing the [[February 1974 United Kingdom general election|February 1974 general election]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/background/pastelec/ge74feb.shtml |title=BBC Politics 97 |access-date=28 January 2020}}</ref> Also in 1974, Whitelaw became a [[Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour]].<ref>{{cite web |date=16 June 2008 |title=COMPANIONS OF HONOUR |url=http://www.leighrayment.com/misc/compofhonor.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080926113647/http://www.leighrayment.com/misc/compofhonor.htm |archive-date=26 September 2008 |url-status=usurped |access-date=29 May 2021}}</ref>