First Lord of the Treasury

The first lord of the treasury is a title held by the prime minister of the United Kingdom, as head of the lords commissioners of the treasury exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer. When the ministry of Robert Walpole essentially created the position of prime minister in the 18th century, his primary official and formal title remained first lord of the treasury. 10 Downing Street is technically the official home of the first lord, although it is now entirely associated with the prime minister's office. The first lord is not the United Kingdom's finance minister; this role is instead held by the chancellor of the exchequer, who is the second lord of the treasury.

Lords of the Treasury As of the beginning of the 17th century, the running of the Treasury was frequently entrusted to a commission, rather than to a single individual. Since 1714, it has permanently been in commission. The commissioners have always since that date been referred to as Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, and adopted ordinal numbers to describe their seniority. Eventually in the middle of the same century, the first lord of the Treasury came to be seen as the natural head of the overall ministry running the country, and, as of the time of Robert Walpole (Whig), began to be known, unofficially, as the prime minister.

The term prime minister was initially, but decreasingly, used as a term of derogation; it was first used officially in a royal warrant only in 1905. William Pitt the Younger said the prime minister "ought to be the person at the head of the finances"—though Pitt also served as chancellor of the exchequer for the entirety of his time as prime minister, so his linkage of the finance portfolio to the premiership was wider than merely proposing the occupation of the first lordship by the prime minister.

Prior to 1841 the first lord of the Treasury also held the office of chancellor of the exchequer unless he was a peer and thus barred from that office; in this case, the second lord of the Treasury usually served as chancellor. Since 1841, the chancellor has always been second lord of the Treasury when he was not also prime minister. By convention, the other Lords Commissioners of the Treasury are also Government Whips in the House of Commons.

Official residence

10 Downing Street is the official residence of the first lord of the Treasury, not the office of prime minister. Chequers, a country house in Buckinghamshire, is the official country residence of the prime minister, used as a weekend and holiday home, although the residence has also been used by other senior members of government.

List of First Lords (1714–1922)

Much of this list overlaps with the list of prime ministers of the United Kingdom, but there are some notable differences, principally concerning , who was prime minister but not first lord in 1885–1886, 1887–1892 and 1895–1902.

Those first lords who were simultaneously prime minister are indicated in bold.

Those who were considered prime minister only during part of their term are indicated in bold italic.

First Lord Entered office Left office Party 13 October 1714 19 May 1715 Whig 23 May 1715 10 October 1715 Whig 10 October 1715 12 April 1717 Whig 12 April 1717 21 March 1718 Whig 21 March 1718 3 April 1721 Whig 3 April 1721 11 February 1742 Whig 16 February 1742 2 July 1743 Whig 27 August 1743 10 February 1746 Whig 10 February 1746 12 February 1746 Whig 12 February 1746 6 March 1754 Whig 16 March 1754 16 November 1756 Whig 16 November 1756 8 June 1757 Whig 8 June 1757 12 June 1757 Whig 12 June 1757 25 June 1757 Whig 2 July 1757 26 May 1762 Whig 26 May 1762 16 April 1763 Tory 16 April 1763 13 July 1765 Whig 13 July 1765 30 July 1766 Whig 30 July 1766 28 January 1770 Whig 28 January 1770 22 March 1782 Tory 27 March 1782 1 July 1782 Whig 4 July 1782 2 April 1783 Whig 2 April 1783 19 December 1783 Whig 19 December 1783 14 March 1801 Tory 17 March 1801 10 May 1804 Tory 10 May 1804 23 January 1806 Tory 11 February 1806 31 March 1807 Whig 31 March 1807 4 October 1809 Whig 4 October 1809 11 May 1812 Tory 9 June 1812 10 April 1827 Tory 10 April 1827 8 August 1827 Tory 31 August 1827 22 January 1828 Tory 22 January 1828 22 November 1830 Tory 22 November 1830 16 July 1834 Whig 16 July 1834 14 November 1834 Whig 14 November 1834 10 December 1834 Tory 10 December 1834 8 April 1835 Tory 18 April 1835 30 August 1841 Whig 30 August 1841 29 June 1846 Conservative 30 June 1846 23 February 1852 Whig 23 February 1852 19 December 1852 Conservative 19 December 1852 6 February 1855 Peelite 6 February 1855 20 February 1858 Liberal 20 February 1858 12 June 1859 Conservative 12 June 1859 18 October 1865 Liberal 29 October 1865 28 June 1866 Liberal 28 June 1866 27 February 1868 Conservative 27 February 1868 3 December 1868 Conservative 3 December 1868 20 February 1874 Liberal 20 February 1874 23 April 1880 Conservative 23 April 1880 23 June 1885 Liberal 29 June 1885 1 February 1886 Conservative 1 February 1886 25 July 1886 Liberal 3 August 1886 14 January 1887 Conservative 14 January 1887 6 October 1891 Conservative 6 October 1891 15 August 1892 Conservative 15 August 1892 5 March 1894 Liberal 5 March 1894 25 June 1895 Liberal 25 June 1895 5 December 1905 Conservative 5 December 1905 3 April 1908 Liberal 8 April 1908 5 December 1916 Liberal 6 December 1916 19 October 1922 Liberal Thereafter the posts of first lord and prime minister have continually been held by the same person .

First Lord of the Treasury

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