British History For Dummies
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The office of Prime (or ‘first’) Minister developed in the eighteenth century, when the First Lord of the Treasury came to be regarded as the official head of the government. The first person who is generally regarded as having acted as Prime Minister was Sir Robert Walpole.

Sir Robert Walpole 1721–1742 Whig
Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington 1742–1743 Whig
Henry Pelham 1743–1754 Whig
Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle 1754–1756 Whig
William Cavendish, Duke of Devonshire 1756–1757 Whig
Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle 1757–1762 Whig
John Stuart, Earl of Bute 1762–1763 Tory
George Grenville 1763–1765 Whig
Charles Watson-Wentworth, Marquess of Rockingham 1765–1766 Whig
William Pitt, Earl of Chatham 1766–1768 Whig
Augustus Fitzroy, Duke of Grafton 1768–1770 Whig
Frederick North, Lord North 1770–1782 Tory
Charles Watson-Wentworth, Marquess of Rockingham 1782 Whig
William Petty-Fitzmaurice, Earl of Shelburne 1782–1783 Whig
William Cavendish-Bentinck, Duke of Portland 1783 Whig–Tory coalition
William Pitt (the Younger) 1783–1801 Tory
Henry Addington1801–1804 Tory
William Pitt (the Younger) 1804–1806 Tory
William Wyndham Grenville, Lord Grenville 1806–1807 Whig–Tory coalition (The Ministry of All the Talents)
William Cavendish-Bentinck, Duke of Portland 1807–1809 Tory
Spencer Perceval1 809–1812 Tory (assassinated)
Robert Jenkinson, Lord Liverpool 1812–1827 Tory
George Canning 1827 Tory
Frederick John Robinson, Lord Goderich 1827–1828 Tory
Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington 1828–1830 Tory
Charles Grey, Earl Grey 1830–1834 Whig
William Lamb, Viscount Melbourne 1834 Whig
Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington 1834 Tory
Sir Robert Peel 1834–1835 Tory–Conservative
William Lamb, Viscount Melbourne 1835–1841 Whig
Sir Robert Peel 1841–1846 Tory–Conservative
Lord John Russell 1846–1852 Whig
Edward Smith-Stanley, Earl of Derby 1852 Tory–Conservative
George Hamilton-Gordon, Earl of Aberdeen 1852–1855 Whig
Henry John Temple, Viscount Palmerston 1855–1858 Whig
Edward Smith-Stanley, Earl of Derby 1858–1859 Tory–Conservative
Henry John Temple, Viscount Palmerston 1858–1865 Whig
John Russell, Earl Russell 1865–1866 Whig–Liberal
Edward Smith-Stanley, Earl of Derby 1866–1868 Tory–Conservative
Benjamin Disraeli 1868 Conservative
William Ewart Gladstone 1868–1874 Liberal
Benjamin Disraeli (Earl of Beaconsfield from 1876) 1874–1880 Conservative
William Ewart Gladstone 1880–1885 Liberal
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury 1885–1886 Conservative
William Ewart Gladstone 1886 Liberal
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury 1886–1892 Conservative
William Ewart Gladstone 1892–1894 Liberal
Archibald Primrose, Earl of Rosebery 1894–1895 Liberal
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury 1895–1902 Conservative
Arthur Balfour 1902–1905 Conservative
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman 1905–1908 Liberal
Herbert Henry Asquith 1908–1916 Liberal
David Lloyd George 1916–1922 Liberal–Conservative coalition
Andrew Bonar Law 1922–1923 Conservative
Stanley Baldwin 1922–1924 Conservative
James Ramsay MacDonald 1924 Labour
Stanley Baldwin 1924–1929 Conservative
James Ramsay MacDonald 1929–1931 Labour
James Ramsay MacDonald 1931–1935 National Government (Labour–Conservative–Liberal coalition)
Stanley Baldwin 1935–1937 National Government (Conservative–Liberal)
Neville Chamberlain 1937–1940 National Government
Winston Spencer Churchill 1940–1945 Coalition (Conservative–Labour–Liberal)
Clement Attlee 1945–1951 Labour
Winston Spencer Churchill 1951–1955 Conservative
Anthony Eden 1955–1957 Conservative
Harold Macmillan 1957–1963 Conservative
Sir Alec Douglas-Home 1963–1964 Conservative
Harold Wilson 1964–1970 Labour
Edward Heath 1970–1974 Conservative
Harold Wilson 1974–1976 Labour
James Callaghan 1976–1979 Labour
Margaret Thatcher 1979–1990 Conservative
John Major 1990–1997 Conservative
Anthony (Tony) Blair 1997–2007 Labour
Gordon Brown 2007–2010 Labour
David Cameron 2010– Coalition (Conservative–Liberal Democrat)

About This Article

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Seán Lang, PhD is the author of the best-selling European History For Dummies. He is a senior university lecturer in history and has been teaching history to school, college, and university students for more than two decades.

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