Sir Robert Peel (1788-1850): strokes on a portrait of "conservative reformer" (part 1, 1809-1829)

The article examines the political and intellectual biography of Sir Robert Peel, one of the founders of modern conservatism and the Conservative Party of Great Britain. The first part of the article explores the process of R. Peel's ascent to the political Olympus from the moment his first entrance to parliament in 1809 to the political crisis of 1829 associated with the Catholic Emancipation, which he met as one of the key ministers in the government of the Duke of Wellington. The activities of R. Peel are also considered: he served as Deputy Secretary for Irish Affairs, when his attitude to the key problems of governing Ireland crystallized, and as Home Secretary, when criminal law reform was carried out under his leadership and regular police forces were established. Special attention is given to the political views of R. Peel and the process of formalizing the political platform that will later become the basis for the Conservative party. It is also noted that Peel's conservatism combines respect for human rights and civil society with the protection of traditional values, while speculative projects of radical reconstruction are initially doomed to failure, since they violate the established state of things.