List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom

The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the principal minister of the crown of His Majesty's Government, and the head of the British Cabinet. There is no specific date for when the office of prime minister first appeared, as the role was not created but rather evolved over a period of time through a merger of duties. The term was regularly, if informally, used of Robert Walpole by the 1730s. It was used in the House of Commons as early as 1805, and it was certainly in parliamentary use by the 1880s, although did not become the official title until 1905.

Modern historians generally consider Robert Walpole, who led the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain for over twenty years from 1721, as the first prime minister. Walpole is also the longest-serving British prime minister by this definition. By the same consideration the first prime minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was William Pitt the Younger at its creation on 1 January 1801. The first to use the title in an official act was Benjamin Disraeli, who, in 1878, signed the Treaty of Berlin as "Prime Minister of Her Britannic Majesty".

In 1905, the post of prime minister was officially given recognition in the order of precedence, with the incumbent Henry Campbell-Bannerman the first officially referred to as "prime minister".

The first prime minister of the current United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland upon its effective creation in 1922 (when 26 Irish counties seceded and created the Irish Free State) was Bonar Law, although the country was not renamed officially until 1927, when Stanley Baldwin was the serving prime minister. The incumbent prime minister is Rishi Sunak, who assumed office on 25 October 2022.

Before the Kingdom of Great Britain

Before the Union of England and Scotland in 1707, the Treasury of England was led by the Lord High Treasurer. By the late Tudor period, the Lord High Treasurer was regarded as one of the Great Officers of State, and was often (though not always) the dominant figure in government: Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (lord high treasurer, 1547–1549), served as lord protector to his young nephew King Edward VI; William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (lord high treasurer, 1572–1598), was the dominant minister to Queen Elizabeth I; Burghley's son Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, succeeded his father as Chief Minister to Elizabeth (1598–1603) and was eventually appointed by King James I as lord high treasurer (1608–1612).

By the late Stuart period, the Treasury was often run not by a single individual (i.e., the lord high treasurer) but by a commission of lords of the Treasury, led by the first lord of the Treasury. The last lords high treasurer, Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin (1702–1710) and Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford (1711–1714), ran the government of Queen Anne.

From 1707 to 1721

Following the succession of George I in 1714, the arrangement of a commission of lords of the Treasury (as opposed to a single lord high treasurer) became permanent. For the next three years, the government was headed by Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend, who was appointed Secretary of State for the Northern Department. Subsequently, Lords Stanhope and Sunderland ran the government jointly, with Stanhope managing foreign affairs and Sunderland domestic. Stanhope died in February 1721 and Sunderland resigned two months later; Townshend and Robert Walpole were then invited to form the next government. From that point, the holder of the office of first lord also usually (albeit unofficially) held the status of prime minister. It was not until the Edwardian era that the title prime minister was constitutionally recognised. The prime minister still holds the office of first lord by constitutional convention, the only exceptions being Lords Chatham (1766–1768) and Salisbury (1885–1886, 1886–1892, 1895–1902).

Since 1721

Prime ministers

List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom since 1721
Portrait Prime minister
Office
(Lifespan)
Term of office Mandate Ministerial offices held as prime minister Party Government Monarch
Reign
Start End Duration
Robert Walpole
3 April
1721
11 February
1742
20 years, 315 days 1722 Whig Walpole–​Townshend George I
George I of Great Britain
r. 1714–1727
1727 George II
George II of Great Britain
r. 1727–1760
1734 Walpole
1741
Spencer Compton
16 February
1742
2 July
1743
1 year, 137 days Carteret
Henry Pelham
27 August
1743
6 March
1754
10 years, 192 days Broad Bottom I
1747 Broad Bottom II
Thomas Pelham-Holles
16 March
1754
11 November
1756
2 years, 241 days 1754 Newcastle I
William Cavendish
16 November
1756
29 June
1757
226 days Pitt–​Devonshire
1757 Caretaker
Thomas Pelham-Holles
29 June
1757
26 May
1762
4 years, 332 days 1761 Pitt–​Newcastle
Bute–​Newcastle
(ToryWhig)
George III
George III of Great Britain
r. 1760–1820
John Stuart
26 May
1762
8 April
1763
318 days Tory Bute
George Grenville
16 April
1763
10 July
1765
2 years, 86 days Whig Grenville
(mainly Whig)
Charles Watson-Wentworth
13 July
1765
30 July
1766
1 year, 18 days Whig Rockingham I
William Pitt the Elder
30 July
1766
14 October
1768
2 years, 77 days 1768 Whig Chatham
Augustus FitzRoy
14 October
1768
28 January
1770
1 year, 107 days Grafton
Frederick North, Lord North
28 January
1770
27 March
1782
12 years, 59 days 1774 Tory North
1780
Charles Watson-Wentworth
27 March
1782
1 July
1782
97 days Whig Rockingham II
William Petty
4 July
1782
26 March
1783
266 days Whig Shelburne
William Cavendish-Bentinck
2 April
1783
18 December
1783
261 days Whig Fox–North
William Pitt the Younger
19 December
1783
14 March
1801
17 years, 86 days 1784 Tory Pitt I
1790
1796
Henry Addington
17 March
1801
10 May
1804
3 years, 55 days 1801 Tory Addington
1802
William Pitt the Younger
10 May
1804
23 January
1806
1 year, 259 days Tory Pitt II
William Grenville
11 February
1806
25 March
1807
1 year, 43 days 1806 Whig All the Talents
(WhigTory)
William Cavendish-Bentinck
31 March
1807
4 October
1809
2 years, 188 days 1807 Tory Portland II
Spencer Perceval
4 October
1809
11 May
1812
2 years, 221 days Perceval
Robert Jenkinson
8 June
1812
9 April
1827
14 years, 306 days 1812 Liverpool
1818 George IV
George IV of Great Britain
r. 1820–1830
1820
1826
George Canning
12 April
1827
8 August
1827
119 days Tory Canning
F. J. Robinson
31 August
1827
8 January
1828
131 days Tory Goderich
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
22 January
1828
16 November
1830
2 years, 299 days Tory Wellington–​Peel
(1830) William IV
William IV of Great Britain
r. 1830–1837
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
22 November
1830
9 July
1834
3 years, 230 days 1831 Whig Grey
1832
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
16 July
1834
14 November
1834
122 days Melbourne I
photograph
17 November
1834
9 December
1834
23 days (—) Tory Wellington Caretaker
Robert Peel
10 December
1834
8 April
1835
120 days (—) Conservative Peel I
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
18 April
1835
30 August
1841
6 years, 135 days 1835 Whig Melbourne II
1837 Victoria
Queen Victoria
r. 1837–1901
Robert Peel
30 August
1841
29 June
1846
4 years, 304 days 1841 Conservative Peel II
photograph
30 June
1846
21 February
1852
5 years, 237 days (1847) Whig Russell I
engraving
23 February
1852
17 December
1852
299 days 1852 Conservative Who? Who?
engraving
19 December
1852
30 January
1855
2 years, 43 days (—) Peelite Aberdeen
(PeeliteWhig​others)
photograph
6 February
1855
19 February
1858
3 years, 14 days 1857 Whig Palmerston I
engraving
20 February
1858
11 June
1859
1 year, 112 days (—) Conservative Derby–​Disraeli II
photograph
12 June
1859
18 October
1865
6 years, 129 days 1859 Liberal Palmerston II
1865
photograph
29 October
1865
26 June
1866
241 days Russell II
engraving
28 June
1866
25 February
1868
1 year, 243 days (—) Conservative Derby–​Disraeli III
photograph
27 February
1868
1 December
1868
279 days (—)
photograph
3 December
1868
17 February
1874
5 years, 77 days 1868 Liberal Gladstone I
photograph
20 February
1874
21 April
1880
6 years, 62 days 1874 Conservative Disraeli II
photograph
23 April
1880
9 June
1885
5 years, 48 days 1880 Liberal Gladstone II
photograph
23 June
1885
28 January
1886
220 days (—) Conservative Salisbury I
photograph
1 February
1886
20 July
1886
170 days (1885) Liberal Gladstone III
photograph
25 July
1886
11 August
1892
6 years, 18 days (1886) Conservative Salisbury II
photograph
15 August
1892
2 March
1894
1 year, 200 days (1892) Liberal Gladstone IV
photograph
5 March
1894
22 June
1895
1 year, 110 days (—) Rosebery
photograph
25 June
1895
11 July
1902
7 years, 17 days 1895 Conservative Salisbury III
(ConLib.U)
1900 Salisbury IV
(Con–​Lib.U)
Edward VII
Edward VII
r. 1901–1910
photograph
12 July
1902
4 December
1905
3 years, 146 days Balfour
(Con–​Lib.U)
photograph
5 December
1905
3 April
1908
2 years, 121 days 1906 Liberal Campbell-Bannerman
photograph
8 April
1908
5 December
1916
8 years, 243 days Asquith I
(Jan.1910) Asquith II George V
George V
r. 1910–1936
(Dec.1910) Asquith III
(—) Asquith Coalition
(LibCon​others)
photograph
6 December
1916
19 October
1922
5 years, 318 days (—) Lloyd George War
1918 Lloyd George II
(LibCon)
photograph
23 October
1922
20 May
1923
210 days 1922 Conservative Law
photograph
22 May
1923
22 January
1924
246 days Conservative Baldwin I
photograph
22 January
1924
4 November
1924
288 days (1923) Labour MacDonald I
photograph
4 November
1924
4 June
1929
4 years, 213 days 1924 Conservative Baldwin II
photograph
5 June
1929
7 June
1935
6 years, 3 days (1929) Labour MacDonald II
(—) National Labour National I
(Nat.LabCon​others)
1931 National II
photograph
7 June
1935
28 May
1937
1 year, 356 days 1935 Conservative National III
Edward VIII
Edward VIII
r. 1936
George VI
George VI
r. 1936–1952
photograph
28 May
1937
10 May
1940
2 years, 349 days National IV
Chamberlain War
photograph
10 May
1940
26 July
1945
5 years, 78 days Churchill War
Churchill Caretaker
(ConNat.Lib)
photograph
26 July
1945
26 October
1951
6 years, 93 days 1945 Labour Attlee I
1950 Attlee II
photograph
26 October
1951
5 April
1955
3 years, 162 days 1951 Conservative Churchill III
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II
r. 1952–2022
photograph
6 April
1955
9 January
1957
1 year, 279 days 1955 Eden
photograph
10 January
1957
18 October
1963
6 years, 282 days Macmillan I
1959 Macmillan II
photograph
18 October
1963
16 October
1964
365 days Conservative Douglas-Home
photograph
16 October
1964
19 June
1970
5 years, 247 days 1964 Labour Wilson I
1966 Wilson II
photograph
19 June
1970
4 March
1974
3 years, 259 days 1970 Conservative Heath
photograph
4 March
1974
5 April
1976
2 years, 33 days (Feb.1974) Labour Wilson III
Oct.1974 Wilson IV
photograph
5 April
1976
4 May
1979
3 years, 30 days Callaghan
photograph
4 May
1979
28 November
1990
11 years, 209 days 1979 Conservative Thatcher I
1983 Thatcher II
1987 Thatcher III
photograph
28 November
1990
2 May
1997
6 years, 156 days Major I
1992 Major II
photograph
2 May
1997
27 June
2007
10 years, 57 days 1997 Labour Blair I
2001 Blair II
2005 Blair III
photograph
27 June
2007
11 May
2010
2 years, 319 days Brown
photograph
11 May
2010
13 July
2016
6 years, 64 days (2010) Conservative Cameron–Clegg
(ConLib.Dem)
2015 Cameron II
photograph
13 July
2016
24 July
2019
3 years, 12 days May I
(2017) May II
photograph
24 July
2019
6 September
2022
3 years, 45 days (—) Johnson I
2019 Johnson II
photograph
6 September
2022
25 October
2022
50 days Truss
Charles III
r. 2022–present
photograph
25 October
2022
Incumbent 1 year, 147 days Sunak

Disputed prime ministers

Due to the gradual evolution of the post of prime minister, the title is applied to early prime ministers only retrospectively; this has sometimes given rise to academic dispute. William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath and James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave are sometimes listed as prime ministers. Bath was invited to form a ministry by George II when Henry Pelham resigned in 1746, as was Waldegrave in 1757 after the dismissal of William Pitt the Elder, who dominated the affairs of government during the Seven Years' War. Neither was able to command sufficient parliamentary support to form a government; Bath stepped down after two days and Waldegrave after four. Modern academic consensus does not consider either man to have held office as prime minister;[failed verification] they are therefore listed separately.

List of disputed prime ministers of the United Kingdom since 1721
Portrait Prime minister
Office
(Lifespan)
Term of office Mandate Ministerial offices held as prime minister Party Government Monarch
Reign
Start End Duration
William Pulteney
10 February
1746
12 February
1746
3 days
Whig Short Lived George II
George II of Great Britain
r. 1727–1760
James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave
8 June
1757
12 June
1757
5 days
Waldegrave

List notes

  1. ^ a b Legend for the
    Mandate
    column:
    1722
    a year
    indicates a general election won by the government or that led to the formation of a government (the year links to the election's article);
    (1830)
    a parenthesised year
    indicates an election resulting in no single party winning a Commons majority (the year links to the election's article);
    a dash
    indicates the formation of a majority government without an election;
    (—)
    a parenthesised dash
    indicates the formation of a minority or coalition government during a hung parliament.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Died in office
  3. ^ Pitt served as a Member of Parliament for Bath for the first five days of his premiership (30 July – 4 August 1766). He relinquished his Commons seat in order to take the office of Lord Privy Seal, which required his elevation to the House of Lords.
  4. ^ Pitt contested a different constituency in the 1784 British general election.
  5. ^ Disraeli was elevated to the House of Lords in 1876, two years into his second premiership. Consequently, he relinquished his Commons seat as MP for Buckinghamshire.
  6. ^ Douglas Home disclaimed his peerage as the Earl of Home on 23 October 1963. He was elected an MP on 7 November 1963.

Timeline

Rishi SunakLiz TrussBoris JohnsonTheresa MayDavid CameronGordon BrownTony BlairJohn MajorMargaret ThatcherJames CallaghanEdward HeathHarold WilsonAlec Douglas-HomeHarold MacmillanAnthony EdenClement AttleeWinston ChurchillNeville ChamberlainRamsay MacDonaldStanley BaldwinAndrew Bonar LawDavid Lloyd GeorgeHerbert Henry AsquithHenry Campbell-BannermanArthur BalfourArchibald Primrose, 5th Earl of RoseberyRobert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of SalisburyWilliam Ewart GladstoneBenjamin DisraeliHenry John Temple, 3rd Viscount PalmerstonGeorge Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of AberdeenEdward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of DerbyJohn Russell, 1st Earl RussellRobert PeelWilliam Lamb, 2nd Viscount MelbourneCharles Grey, 2nd Earl GreyArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of WellingtonF. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount GoderichGeorge CanningRobert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of LiverpoolSpencer PercevalWilliam Grenville, 1st Baron GrenvilleHenry Addington, 1st Viscount SidmouthWilliam Pitt the YoungerWilliam Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of PortlandWilliam Petty, 2nd Earl of ShelburneFrederick North, Lord NorthAugustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of GraftonWilliam Pitt, 1st Earl of ChathamCharles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of RockinghamGeorge GrenvilleJohn Stuart, 3rd Earl of ButeWilliam Cavendish, 4th Duke of DevonshireThomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of NewcastleHenry PelhamSpencer Compton, 1st Earl of WilmingtonRobert Walpole

See also


This page was last updated at 2024-03-20 02:11 UTC. Update now. View original page.

All our content comes from Wikipedia and under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.


Top

If mathematical, chemical, physical and other formulas are not displayed correctly on this page, please useFirefox or Safari