Clement Attlee was one of Britain's most significant political figures. He was the leader of Britain's Labour Party from 1935-1955 and Deputy Prime Minister of the UK during the wartime coalition against Nazi Germany (1940-45). He won a landslide victory in the 1945 general election, defeating Churchill, and while Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1945-1951) he established the National Health Service and India gained Independence from the British empire.