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 time through a merger of duties. The term was regularly, if informally, used by 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, but did not become the official title until 1905, when Henry Campbell-Bannerman was prime minister.

Historians generally consider Robert Walpole, who led the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain for over twenty years from 1721, to be the first prime minister. Walpole is also the longest-serving British prime minister by this definition. 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 signed the 1878 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 creation in 1922 (when 26 Irish counties seceded and created the Irish Free State) was Andrew Bonar Law, although the country was not renamed officially until 1927, when Stanley Baldwin was the serving prime minister.

Before the Kingdom of Great Britain Kingdom of England 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.

Kingdom of Scotland The Chancellor of Scotland was effectively the first minister of the kingdom. His department, the chancery, was responsible for the Great Seal, which was needed to process the inheritance of land titles and the confirmation of land transfers. His key responsibility was to preside at meetings of the privy council, and on those rare occasions he attended, at meetings of the court of session.Goodacre, The Government of Scotland, 1560–1625, pp. 150–1. The last Chancellor of Scotland, who ran the government during Queen Anne's reign, was James Ogilvy, 1st Earl of Seafield.

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 of first lord also usually (albeit unofficially) held the status of prime minister. It was not until the Edwardian era that the title was constitutionally recognised. The prime minister still holds the office of first lord by constitutional convention, the only exceptions being the Earl of Chatham and the Marquess of Salisbury.

Since 1721

Prime ministers

+ List of prime ministers of Great Britain or the United Kingdom since 1721 Portrait Prime minister Term of office Mandate Ministerial offices held as prime minister Party Government Monarch Start End Duration 1721 1742 Whig Walpole–Townshend George I George II Walpole 1742 1743 — Carteret 1743 1754 — Broad Bottom I Broad Bottom II 1754 1756 Newcastle I 1756 1757 — Pitt–Devonshire 1757 Caretaker 1757 1762 Pitt–Newcastle Bute–Newcastle George III 1762 1763 — Tory Bute 1763 1765 — Whig Grenville 1765 1766 — Whig Rockingham I 1766 1768 Whig Chatham 1768 1770 — Grafton 1770 1782 Tory North 1782 1782 — Whig Rockingham II 1782 1783 — Whig Shelburne 1783 1783 — Whig Fox–North 1783 1801 Tory Pitt I 1801 1804 Tory Addington 1804 1806 — Tory Pitt II 1806 1807 Whig All the Talents 1807 1809 Tory Portland II 1809 1812 — Perceval 1812 1827 Liverpool George IV 1827 1827 — Tory Canning 1827 1828 — Tory Goderich 1828 1830 — Tory Wellington–Peel () William IV 1830 1834 Whig Grey 1834 1834 — Melbourne I 1834 1834 (—) Tory Wellington Caretaker 1834 1835 (—) Conservative Peel I 1835 1841 Whig Melbourne II Victoria 1841 1846 Conservative Peel II 1846 1852 () Whig Russell I 1852 1852 Conservative Who? Who? 1852 1855 (—) Peelite Aberdeen 1855 1858 Whig Palmerston I 1858 1859 (—) Conservative Derby–Disraeli II 1859 1865 Liberal Palmerston II 1865 1866 — Russell II 1866 1868 (—) Conservative Derby–Disraeli III 1868 1868 (—) 1868 1874 Liberal Gladstone I 1874 1880 Conservative Disraeli II 1880 1885 Liberal Gladstone II 1885 1886 (—) Conservative Salisbury I 1886 1886 () Liberal Gladstone III 1886 1892 () Conservative Salisbury II 1892 1894 () Liberal Gladstone IV 1894 1895 (—) Rosebery 1895 1902 Conservative Salisbury III Salisbury IV Edward VII 1902 1905 — Balfour 1905 1908 Liberal Campbell-Bannerman 1908 1916 — Asquith I () Asquith II George V () Asquith III (—) Asquith Coalition 1916 1922 (—) Coalition Liberal (1916–1922)National Liberal (1922) Lloyd George War Lloyd George II 1922 1923 Conservative Law 1923 1924 — Conservative Baldwin I 1924 1924 () Labour MacDonald I 1924 1929 Conservative Baldwin II 1929 1935 () Labour MacDonald II (—) National Labour National I National II 1935 1937 Conservative National III Edward VIII George VI 1937 1940 — National IV Chamberlain War 1940 1945 — Churchill War Churchill Caretaker 1945 1951 Labour Attlee I Attlee II 1951 1955 Conservative Churchill III Elizabeth II 1955 1957 Eden 1957 1963 — Macmillan I Macmillan II 1963 1964 — Conservative Douglas-Home 1964 1970 Labour Wilson I Wilson II 1970 1974 Conservative Heath 1974 1976 ) Labour Wilson III Wilson IV 1976 1979 — Callaghan 1979 1990 Conservative Thatcher I Thatcher II Thatcher III 1990 1997 — Major I Major II 1997 2007 Labour Blair I Blair II Blair III 2007 2010 — Brown 2010 2016 () Conservative Cameron–Clegg Cameron II 2016 2019 — May I () May II(DUP confidence & supply) 2019 2022 (—) Johnson I(DUP confidence & supply) Johnson II 2022 2022 — Truss Charles III 2022 2024 — Sunak 2024 2026 Labour Starmer 2026 Incumbent — Labour Burnham

Disputed prime ministers Because of 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 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. They are therefore listed separately.

+List of disputed prime ministers of the United Kingdom since 1721 Portrait Prime minister Term of office Mandate Ministerial offices held as prime minister Party Government MonarchStartEndDuration 1746 1746 – Whig Short-lived George II 1757 1757 – Waldegrave

List notes

Timeline

List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom

Bron en licentie