British Prime Ministers
Past Prime Ministers and their terms of office
- First Published
- Tue Jan 10 2023
- Last Published
- Tue May 23 2023
- Number of cards
- 66
- Number of dates
- 132
- Number of links
- 0
- Link density
- 0
18th Century
1782
Charles Watson-Wentworth (2nd term)
[start]
Whig. 2nd Marquess of Rockingham. In his 2nd term, pushed for an acknowledgement of the independence of the United States, initiating an end to British involvement in the American War of Independence. His second term was short-lived, as he died fourteen weeks later at the beginning of July from an influenza epidemic.
1782
Charles Watson-Wentworth (2nd term)
[end]
Whig. 2nd Marquess of Rockingham. In his 2nd term, pushed for an acknowledgement of the independence of the United States, initiating an end to British involvement in the American War of Independence. His second term was short-lived, as he died fourteen weeks later at the beginning of July from an influenza epidemic.
1782
William Petty
[start]
Whig. 2nd Earl of Shelburne. Was prime minister during the final months of the American War of Independence. He succeeded in securing peace with America and this feat remains his most notable legacy.
1783
William Petty
[end]
Whig. 2nd Earl of Shelburne. Was prime minister during the final months of the American War of Independence. He succeeded in securing peace with America and this feat remains his most notable legacy.
1783
William Cavendish-Bentinck (1st term)
[start]
Whig. 3rd Duke of Portland. Acted as titular head of a coalition government, whose real leaders were Charles James Fox and Lord North. During his tenure, the Treaty of Paris was signed, which formally ended the American Revolutionary War. The government was brought down after it had lost a vote in the House of Lords on its proposed reform of the East India Company after George III had let it be known that any peer voting for the measure would be considered his personal enemy.
1783
William Cavendish-Bentinck (1st term)
[end]
Whig. 3rd Duke of Portland. Acted as titular head of a coalition government, whose real leaders were Charles James Fox and Lord North. During his tenure, the Treaty of Paris was signed, which formally ended the American Revolutionary War. The government was brought down after it had lost a vote in the House of Lords on its proposed reform of the East India Company after George III had let it be known that any peer voting for the measure would be considered his personal enemy.
19th Century
1783
William Pitt, the Younger (1st term)
[start]
Tory. Served two terms. The youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ireland).
1801
William Pitt, the Younger (1st term)
[end]
Tory. Served two terms. The youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ireland).
1801
Henry Addington
[start]
1804
Henry Addington
[end]
1804
William Pitt, the Younger (2nd term)
[start]
Tory. Served two terms. The youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ireland).
1806
William Pitt, the Younger (2nd term)
[end]
Tory. Served two terms. The youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ireland).
1806
William Wyndham Grenville
[start]
1807
William Wyndham Grenville
[end]
1807
William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (2nd term)
[start]
Tory. 3rd Duke of Portland. Portland's second government saw the United Kingdom's complete isolation on the continent but also the beginning of its recovery with the start of the Peninsular War.
1809
Spencer Perceval
[start]
1809
William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (2nd term)
[end]
Tory. 3rd Duke of Portland. Portland's second government saw the United Kingdom's complete isolation on the continent but also the beginning of its recovery with the start of the Peninsular War.
1812
Spencer Perceval
[end]
1812
Robert Banks Jenkinson
[start]
1827
Robert Banks Jenkinson
[end]
1827
George Canning
[start]
1827
George Canning
[end]
1827
Frederick John Robinson
[start]
1828
Frederick John Robinson
[end]
1828
Arthur Wellesley (1st term)
[start]
1830
Arthur Wellesley (1st term)
[end]
1830
Charles Grey
[start]
1834
Charles Grey
[end]
1834
William Lamb (1st term)
[start]
1834
William Lamb (1st term)
[end]
1834
Arthur Wellesley (2nd term)
[start]
1834
Arthur Wellesley (2nd term)
[end]
1834
Robert Peel (1st term)
[start]
1835
Robert Peel (1st term)
[end]
1835
William Lamb (2nd term)
[start]
1841
William Lamb (2nd term)
[end]
1841
Robert Peel (2nd term)
[start]
1846
Robert Peel (2nd term)
[end]
1846
John Russell (1st term)
[start]
1852
John Russell (1st term)
[end]
1852
Edward Geoffrey Stanley (1st term)
[start]
1852
Edward Geoffrey Stanley (1st term)
[end]
1852
George Hamilton-Gordon
[start]
1855
George Hamilton-Gordon
[end]
1855
Henry John Temple (1st term)
[start]
1858
Henry John Temple (1st term)
[end]
1858
Edward Geoffrey Stanley (2nd term)
[start]
1859
Edward Geoffrey Stanley (2nd term)
[end]
1859
Henry John Temple (2nd term)
[start]
1865
Henry John Temple (2nd term)
[end]
1865
John Russell (2nd term)
[start]
1866
John Russell (2nd term)
[end]
1866
Edward Geoffrey Stanley (3rd term)
[start]
1868
Edward Geoffrey Stanley (3rd term)
[end]
1868
Benjamin Disraeli (1st term)
[start]
1868
Benjamin Disraeli (1st term)
[end]
1868
William Ewart Gladstone (1st term)
[start]
Liberal. Served 4 terms.
1874
William Ewart Gladstone (1st term)
[end]
Liberal. Served 4 terms.
1874
Benjamin Disraeli (2nd term)
[start]
1880
Benjamin Disraeli (2nd term)
[end]
1880
William Ewart Gladstone (2nd term)
[start]
Liberal. Served 4 terms.
1885
William Ewart Gladstone (2nd term)
[end]
Liberal. Served 4 terms.
1885
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (1st term)
[start]
Conservative. Was 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, and held the prime minister position three times for a total of over thirteen years. He was also known as Lord Salisbury. He led Britain to victory in a bitter, controversial war against the Boers.
1886
William Ewart Gladstone (3rd term)
[start]
Liberal. Served 4 terms.
1886
William Ewart Gladstone (3rd term)
[end]
Liberal. Served 4 terms.
1886
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (1st term)
[end]
Conservative. Was 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, and held the prime minister position three times for a total of over thirteen years. He was also known as Lord Salisbury. He led Britain to victory in a bitter, controversial war against the Boers.
1886
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (2nd term)
[start]
Conservative. Was 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, and held the prime minister position three times for a total of over thirteen years. He was also known as Lord Salisbury. He led Britain to victory in a bitter, controversial war against the Boers.
1892
William Ewart Gladstone (4th term)
[start]
Liberal. Served 4 terms.
1892
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (2nd term)
[end]
Conservative. Was 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, and held the prime minister position three times for a total of over thirteen years. He was also known as Lord Salisbury. He led Britain to victory in a bitter, controversial war against the Boers.
1894
William Ewart Gladstone (4th term)
[end]
Liberal. Served 4 terms.
1894
Archibald Primrose
[start]
Liberal. 5th Earl of Rosebery. Rosebery became a leader of the Liberal Imperialist faction of the Liberal Party and when Gladstone retired, in 1894, Rosebery succeeded him as Prime Minister, much to the disgust of Sir William Harcourt, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and leader of the more left-wing Liberals. Rosebery's selection was largely because Queen Victoria disliked most of the other leading Liberals.
1895
Archibald Primrose
[end]
Liberal. 5th Earl of Rosebery. Rosebery became a leader of the Liberal Imperialist faction of the Liberal Party and when Gladstone retired, in 1894, Rosebery succeeded him as Prime Minister, much to the disgust of Sir William Harcourt, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and leader of the more left-wing Liberals. Rosebery's selection was largely because Queen Victoria disliked most of the other leading Liberals.
1895
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (3rd term)
[start]
Conservative. Was 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, and held the prime minister position three times for a total of over thirteen years. He was also known as Lord Salisbury. He led Britain to victory in a bitter, controversial war against the Boers.
1902
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (3rd term)
[end]
Conservative. Was 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, and held the prime minister position three times for a total of over thirteen years. He was also known as Lord Salisbury. He led Britain to victory in a bitter, controversial war against the Boers.
20th Century
1902
Arthur James Balfour
[start]
Conservative. He succeeded his uncle, Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (Lord Salisbury), as prime minister/ He passed the Land Purchase (Ireland) Act, which bought out most of the Anglo-Irish land owners. The Education Act had a major long-term impact in modernising the school system in England and Wales and provided financial support for schools operated by the Church of England and by the Catholic Church. Nonconformists were outraged. He secured the Entente Cordiale with France, an alliance that ended centuries of intermittent conflict between the two states and their predecessors. He faced public anger at the handling of the later stages of the Boer War.
1905
Arthur James Balfour
[end]
Conservative. He succeeded his uncle, Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (Lord Salisbury), as prime minister/ He passed the Land Purchase (Ireland) Act, which bought out most of the Anglo-Irish land owners. The Education Act had a major long-term impact in modernising the school system in England and Wales and provided financial support for schools operated by the Church of England and by the Catholic Church. Nonconformists were outraged. He secured the Entente Cordiale with France, an alliance that ended centuries of intermittent conflict between the two states and their predecessors. He faced public anger at the handling of the later stages of the Boer War.
1905
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
[start]
Liberal. He firmly believed in free trade, Irish Home Rule and the improvement of social conditions, including reduced working hours. His government passed legislation to ensure trade unions could not be liable for damages incurred during strike action, introduced free school meals for all children, and empowered local authorities to purchase agricultural land from private landlords. The last Liberal leader to gain a UK parliamentary majority.
1908
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
[end]
Liberal. He firmly believed in free trade, Irish Home Rule and the improvement of social conditions, including reduced working hours. His government passed legislation to ensure trade unions could not be liable for damages incurred during strike action, introduced free school meals for all children, and empowered local authorities to purchase agricultural land from private landlords. The last Liberal leader to gain a UK parliamentary majority.
1908
Herbert Henry Asquith
[start]
Liberal. Asquith took Great Britain and the British Empire into the First World War. In the second year of the war, his government was attacked for a shortage of munitions and the failure of the Gallipoli Campaign. He formed a coalition government with other parties but failed to satisfy critics, was forced to resign the following year. His role in creating the modern British welfare state has been celebrated, but his weaknesses as a war leader and as a party leader have been highlighted by historians.
1916
Herbert Henry Asquith
[end]
Liberal. Asquith took Great Britain and the British Empire into the First World War. In the second year of the war, his government was attacked for a shortage of munitions and the failure of the Gallipoli Campaign. He formed a coalition government with other parties but failed to satisfy critics, was forced to resign the following year. His role in creating the modern British welfare state has been celebrated, but his weaknesses as a war leader and as a party leader have been highlighted by historians.
1916
David Lloyd George
[start]
Liberal. From Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during the First World War, for social-reform policies (including the National Insurance Act), for his role in the Paris Peace Conference, and for negotiating the establishment of the Irish Free State. Early in his career, he was known for his support of Welsh devolution. He was the last Liberal Party prime minister.
1922
David Lloyd George
[end]
Liberal. From Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during the First World War, for social-reform policies (including the National Insurance Act), for his role in the Paris Peace Conference, and for negotiating the establishment of the Irish Free State. Early in his career, he was known for his support of Welsh devolution. He was the last Liberal Party prime minister.
1922
Andrew Bonar Law
[start]
Conservative. Law was born in the British colony of New Brunswick (now a Canadian province). As Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition, Law focused his attentions in favour of tariff reform and against Irish Home Rule. His campaigning helped turn Liberal attempts to pass the Third Home Rule Bill into a three-year struggle eventually halted by the start of the First World War, with much argument over the status of the six counties in Ulster which would later become Northern Ireland, four of which were predominantly Protestant.
1923
Andrew Bonar Law
[end]
Conservative. Law was born in the British colony of New Brunswick (now a Canadian province). As Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition, Law focused his attentions in favour of tariff reform and against Irish Home Rule. His campaigning helped turn Liberal attempts to pass the Third Home Rule Bill into a three-year struggle eventually halted by the start of the First World War, with much argument over the status of the six counties in Ulster which would later become Northern Ireland, four of which were predominantly Protestant.
1923
Stanley Baldwin (first term)
[start]
Conservative. Served 3 terms. Upon Bonar Law's resignation for health reasons, Baldwin became prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party. His government also saw the General Strike and introduced the Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act to curb the powers of trade unions. He dominated the government between the world wars. For the final decade of his life and for many years afterwards he was vilified for having presided over high unemployment and as one of several British public figures who had tried to appease Adolf Hitler.
1924
Stanley Baldwin (first term)
[end]
Conservative. Served 3 terms. Upon Bonar Law's resignation for health reasons, Baldwin became prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party. His government also saw the General Strike and introduced the Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act to curb the powers of trade unions. He dominated the government between the world wars. For the final decade of his life and for many years afterwards he was vilified for having presided over high unemployment and as one of several British public figures who had tried to appease Adolf Hitler.
1924
James Ramsay MacDonald (first term)
[start]
Labour. Served two terms. MacDonald, along with Keir Hardie and Arthur Henderson, was one of the three principal founders of the Labour Party. Later, he headed a National Government dominated by the Conservative Party and supported by only a few Labour members. MacDonald was expelled from the Labour Party as a result.
1924
James Ramsay MacDonald (first term)
[end]
Labour. Served two terms. MacDonald, along with Keir Hardie and Arthur Henderson, was one of the three principal founders of the Labour Party. Later, he headed a National Government dominated by the Conservative Party and supported by only a few Labour members. MacDonald was expelled from the Labour Party as a result.
1924
Stanley Baldwin (second term)
[start]
Conservative. Served 3 terms. Upon Bonar Law's resignation for health reasons, Baldwin became prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party. His government also saw the General Strike and introduced the Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act to curb the powers of trade unions. He dominated the government between the world wars. For the final decade of his life and for many years afterwards he was vilified for having presided over high unemployment and as one of several British public figures who had tried to appease Adolf Hitler.
1929
Stanley Baldwin (second term)
[end]
Conservative. Served 3 terms. Upon Bonar Law's resignation for health reasons, Baldwin became prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party. His government also saw the General Strike and introduced the Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act to curb the powers of trade unions. He dominated the government between the world wars. For the final decade of his life and for many years afterwards he was vilified for having presided over high unemployment and as one of several British public figures who had tried to appease Adolf Hitler.
1929
James Ramsay MacDonald (second term)
[start]
Labour. Served two terms. MacDonald, along with Keir Hardie and Arthur Henderson, was one of the three principal founders of the Labour Party. Later, he headed a National Government dominated by the Conservative Party and supported by only a few Labour members. MacDonald was expelled from the Labour Party as a result.
1935
James Ramsay MacDonald (second term)
[end]
Labour. Served two terms. MacDonald, along with Keir Hardie and Arthur Henderson, was one of the three principal founders of the Labour Party. Later, he headed a National Government dominated by the Conservative Party and supported by only a few Labour members. MacDonald was expelled from the Labour Party as a result.
1935
Stanley Baldwin (third term)
[start]
Conservative. Served 3 terms. Upon Bonar Law's resignation for health reasons, Baldwin became prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party. His government also saw the General Strike and introduced the Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act to curb the powers of trade unions. He dominated the government between the world wars. For the final decade of his life and for many years afterwards he was vilified for having presided over high unemployment and as one of several British public figures who had tried to appease Adolf Hitler.
1937
Stanley Baldwin (third term)
[end]
Conservative. Served 3 terms. Upon Bonar Law's resignation for health reasons, Baldwin became prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party. His government also saw the General Strike and introduced the Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act to curb the powers of trade unions. He dominated the government between the world wars. For the final decade of his life and for many years afterwards he was vilified for having presided over high unemployment and as one of several British public figures who had tried to appease Adolf Hitler.
1937
Neville Chamberlain
[start]
Conservative. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeasement, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement, ceding the German-speaking Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany led by Adolf Hitler. Following the German invasion of Poland, which marked the beginning of the Second World War, Chamberlain announced the declaration of war on Germany two days later and led the United Kingdom through the first eight months of the war.
1940
Neville Chamberlain
[end]
Conservative. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeasement, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement, ceding the German-speaking Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany led by Adolf Hitler. Following the German invasion of Poland, which marked the beginning of the Second World War, Chamberlain announced the declaration of war on Germany two days later and led the United Kingdom through the first eight months of the war.
1940
Sir Winston Churchill (first term)
[start]
Conservative
1945
Sir Winston Churchill (first term)
[end]
Conservative
1945
Clement Attlee
[start]
The Labour Party, led by Attlee, won a landslide victory in the post-WWII general election, on their post-war recovery platform. His government's Keynesian approach to economic management aimed to maintain full employment, a mixed economy and a greatly enlarged system of social services provided by the state. It undertook the nationalisation of public utilities and major industries, and implemented wide-ranging social reforms, including the passing of the National Insurance Act 1946, the formation of the National Health Service (NHS), and the enlargement of public subsidies for council house building.
1951
Clement Attlee
[end]
The Labour Party, led by Attlee, won a landslide victory in the post-WWII general election, on their post-war recovery platform. His government's Keynesian approach to economic management aimed to maintain full employment, a mixed economy and a greatly enlarged system of social services provided by the state. It undertook the nationalisation of public utilities and major industries, and implemented wide-ranging social reforms, including the passing of the National Insurance Act 1946, the formation of the National Health Service (NHS), and the enlargement of public subsidies for council house building.
1951
Sir Winston Churchill (second term)
[start]
Conservative
1955
Sir Winston Churchill (second term)
[end]
Conservative
1955
Sir Anthony Eden
[start]
Conservative. He became foreign secretary aged 38, before resigning in protest at Neville Chamberlain's appeasement policy towards Mussolini's Fascist regime in Italy. Eden's reputation as a skilled diplomat was overshadowed in 1956 when the United States refused to support the Anglo-French military response to the Suez Crisis, which critics across party lines regarded as a historic setback for British foreign policy, signalling the end of British influence in the Middle East.
1957
Sir Anthony Eden
[end]
Conservative. He became foreign secretary aged 38, before resigning in protest at Neville Chamberlain's appeasement policy towards Mussolini's Fascist regime in Italy. Eden's reputation as a skilled diplomat was overshadowed in 1956 when the United States refused to support the Anglo-French military response to the Suez Crisis, which critics across party lines regarded as a historic setback for British foreign policy, signalling the end of British influence in the Middle East.
1957
Harold Macmillan
[start]
Conservative
1963
Harold Macmillan
[end]
Conservative
1963
Sir Alec Douglas-Home
[start]
Conservative
1964
Sir Alec Douglas-Home
[end]
Conservative
1964
Harold Wilson (first term)
[start]
Labour. Served 2 terms.
1970
Harold Wilson (first term)
[end]
Labour. Served 2 terms.
1970
Sir Edward Heath
[start]
Conservative
1974
Sir Edward Heath
[end]
Conservative
1974
Harold Wilson (second term)
[start]
Labour. Served 2 terms.
1976
Harold Wilson (second term)
[end]
Labour. Served 2 terms.
1976
James Callaghan
[start]
Labour
1979
James Callaghan
[end]
Labour
1979
Baroness Margaret Thatcher
[start]
Conservative
1990
Baroness Margaret Thatcher
[end]
Conservative
1990
The Rt Hon Sir John Major KG CH
[start]
Conservative
1997
The Rt Hon Sir John Major KG CH
[end]
Conservative
1997
The Rt Hon Tony Blair
[start]
Labour
2007
The Rt Hon Tony Blair
[end]
Labour
21st Century
2007
The Rt Hon Gordon Brown
[start]
Labour
2010
The Rt Hon Gordon Brown
[end]
Labour
2010
The Rt Hon David Cameron
[start]
Conservative
2016
The Rt Hon David Cameron
[end]
Conservative
2016
The Rt Hon Theresa May MP
[start]
Conservative
2019
The Rt Hon Theresa May MP
[end]
Conservative
2019
The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP
[start]
2022
The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP
[end]
2022
The Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP
[start]
Conservative
2022
The Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP
[end]
Conservative