This is a

graphical Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of data, as in design and manufacture ...

timeline of prime ministers of Great Britain and the United Kingdom from when the first

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

in the modern sense,

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leader ...

, took office in 1721, until the present day. From 1801 until 1922, British prime ministers also held the office for the whole of Ireland.

Great Britain

ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:12 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:50 right:130 left:12 AlignBars = late DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1720 till:1801 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1720 Colors = id:whig value:rgb(1,0.5,0) legend: Whig id:tory value:rgb(0.2,0.2,0.8) legend: Tory id:liteline value:gray(0.8) id:line value:rgb(0.3,0.3,0.3) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1720 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:liteline unit:year increment:1 start:1720 Legend = columns:2 left:150 top:24 columnwidth:100 TextData = pos:(20,27) textcolor:black fontsize:M text:"Political parties:" BarData = bar:Walpole bar:Wilmington bar:Pelham bar:Newcastle bar:Devonshire bar:Bute bar:GrenvilleG bar:Rockingham bar:PittSr bar:Grafton bar:North bar:Shelburne bar:Portland bar:PittJr PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till bar:Walpole from: 1721 till: 1742 color:whig text:"

Sir Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leader ...

" bar:Wilmington from: 1742 till: 1743 color:whig text:" The Earl of Wilmington" bar:Pelham from: 1743 till: 1754 color:whig text:"

Henry Pelham Henry Pelham (25 September 1694 – 6 March 1754) was a British Whig statesman who served as 3rd Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1743 until his death in 1754. He was the younger brother of Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, who ...

" bar:Newcastle from: 1754 till: 1756 color:whig from: 1757 till: 1762 color:whig text:" The Duke of Newcastle" bar:Devonshire from: 1756 till: 1757 color:whig text:"

The Duke of Devonshire Duke of Devonshire is a title in the Peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This (now the senior) branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the wealthiest British aristocratic families since the 16th century and has b ...

" bar:Bute from: 1762 till: 1763 color:tory text:" The Earl of Bute" bar:GrenvilleG from: 1763 till: 1765 color:whig text:"

George Grenville George Grenville (14 October 1712 – 13 November 1770) was a British Whig statesman who rose to the position of Prime Minister of Great Britain. Grenville was born into an influential political family and first entered Parliament in 1741 as an ...

" bar:Rockingham from: 1765 till: 1766 color:whig from: 1782 till: 1782 color:whig text:" The Marquess of Rockingham" bar:PittSr from: 1766 till: 1768 color:whig text:"

William Pitt the Elder William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, (15 November 170811 May 1778) was a British statesman of the Whig group who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. Historians call him Chatham or William Pitt the Elder to distinguish ...

" bar:Grafton from: 1768 till: 1770 color:whig text:" The Duke of Grafton" bar:North from: 1770 till: 1782 color:tory text:"

Lord North Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (13 April 17325 August 1792), better known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from 1752 to 1790, was 12th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most o ...

" bar:Shelburne from: 1782 till: 1783 color:whig text:" The Earl of Shelburne" bar:Portland from: 1783 till: 1783 color:whig text:" The Duke of Portland" bar:PittJr from: 1783 till: 1801 color:tory text:"

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt the Younger (28 May 175923 January 1806) was a British statesman, 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 Ire ...

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:12 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:100 right:130 left:12 AlignBars = late DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1800 till:06/12/1922 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1800 Colors = id:whig value:rgb(1,0.5,0) legend: Whig id:tory value:rgb(0.2,0.2,0.8) legend: Tory id:conservative value:rgb(0,0.53,0.86) legend: Conservative id:peelite value:rgb(0.6,1,0.6) legend: Peelite id:liberal value:rgb(1,0.84,0) legend: Liberal id:liteline value:gray(0.8) id:line value:rgb(0.3,0.3,0.3) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1800 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:liteline unit:year increment:1 start:1800 Legend = columns:3 left:150 top:50 columnwidth:100 TextData = pos:(20,55) textcolor:black fontsize:M text:"Political parties:" BarData = bar:PittJr bar:Addington bar:GrenvilleW bar:Portland bar:Perceval bar:Liverpool bar:Canning bar:Goderich bar:Wellington bar:Grey bar:Melbourne bar:Peel bar:Russell bar:Derby bar:Aberdeen bar:Palmerston bar:Disraeli bar:Gladstone bar:Salisbury bar:Rosebery bar:Balfour bar:CBannerman bar:Asquith bar:LloydGeorge PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till bar:PittJr from: 01/01/1800 till: 17/03/1801 color:tory from: 10/05/1804 till: 23/01/1806 color:tory text:"

" bar:Addington from: 17/03/1801 till: 10/05/1804 color:tory text:"

Henry Addington Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, (30 May 175715 February 1844) was an English Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1804. Addington is best known for obtaining the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, an ...

" bar:GrenvilleW from: 11/02/1806 till: 31/03/1807 color:whig text:" The Lord Grenville" bar:Portland from: 31/03/1807 till: 04/10/1809 color:tory text:" The Duke of Portland" bar:Perceval from: 04/10/1809 till: 11/05/1812 color:tory text:"

Spencer Perceval Spencer Perceval (1 November 1762 – 11 May 1812) was a British statesman and barrister who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1809 until his assassination in May 1812. Perceval is the only British prime minister to ...

" bar:Liverpool from: 08/06/1812 till: 09/04/1827 color:tory text:" The Earl of Liverpool" bar:Canning from: 10/04/1827 till: 08/08/1827 color:tory text:"

George Canning George Canning (11 April 17708 August 1827) was a British Tory statesman. He held various senior cabinet positions under numerous prime ministers, including two important terms as Foreign Secretary, finally becoming Prime Minister of the Unit ...

" bar:Goderich from: 31/08/1827 till: 21/01/1828 color:tory text:" The Viscount Goderich" bar:Wellington from: 22/01/1828 till: 16/11/1830 color:tory from: 14/11/1834 till: 10/12/1834 color:tory text:"

The Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish soldier and Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of Uni ...

" bar:Grey from: 22/11/1830 till: 09/07/1834 color:whig text:" The Earl Grey" bar:Melbourne from: 16/07/1834 till: 14/11/1834 color:whig from: 18/04/1835 till: 30/08/1841 color:whig text:" The Viscount Melbourne" bar:Peel from: 10/12/1834 till: 08/04/1835 color:tory from: 30/08/1841 till: 29/06/1846 color:conservative text:"

Sir Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

" bar:Russell from: 30/06/1846 till: 21/02/1852 color:whig from: 29/10/1865 till: 26/06/1866 color:liberal text:" The Earl Russell (Lord John Russell)" bar:Derby from: 23/02/1852 till: 17/12/1852 color:conservative from: 20/02/1858 till: 11/06/1859 color:conservative from: 28/06/1866 till: 25/02/1868 color:conservative text:" The Earl of Derby" bar:Aberdeen from: 19/12/1852 till: 30/01/1855 color:conservative text:" The Earl of Aberdeen" bar:Palmerston from: 01/02/1855 till: 01/02/1858 color:whig from: 12/06/1859 till: 18/10/1865 color:liberal text:" The Viscount Palmerston" bar:Disraeli from: 27/02/1868 till: 01/12/1868 color:conservative from: 20/02/1874 till: 21/04/1880 color:conservative text:"

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...

" bar:Gladstone from: 03/12/1868 till: 17/02/1874 color:liberal from: 23/04/1880 till: 09/06/1885 color:liberal from: 01/02/1886 till: 20/07/1886 color:liberal from: 15/08/1892 till: 02/03/1894 color:liberal text:"

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

" bar:Salisbury from: 23/06/1885 till: 28/01/1886 color:conservative from: 25/07/1886 till: 11/08/1892 color:conservative from: 25/06/1895 till: 11/07/1902 color:conservative text:" The Marquess of Salisbury" bar:Rosebery from: 05/03/1894 till: 22/06/1895 color:liberal text:"

The Earl of Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian, (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of ...

" bar:Balfour from: 12/07/1902 till: 04/12/1905 color:conservative text:"

Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, (, ; 25 July 184819 March 1930), also known as Lord Balfour, was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As F ...

" bar:CBannerman from: 05/12/1905 till: 03/04/1908 color:liberal text:"

Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (né Campbell; 7 September 183622 April 1908) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. He served as the prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 190 ...

" bar:Asquith from: 05/04/1908 till: 05/12/1916 color:liberal text:"

Herbert Henry Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of ...

" bar:LloydGeorge from: 06/12/1916 till: 19/10/1922 color:liberal text:"

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Combined timeline

Career-based timeline

This timeline shows most of the early life, the political career and death of each prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1846. The first prime minister was

in the early 18th century . Unlike countries where the leader is elected directly to the highest political office of a separate

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

, the

must first establish a political career in the UK Parliament and typically serves many years in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

before becoming Prime Minister, and in some cases for many years afterwards. Since the

Marquess of Salisbury Marquess of Salisbury is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for the 7th Earl of Salisbury. Most of the holders of the title have been prominent in British political life over the last two centuries, particularly th ...

in 1895, all time in parliamentary service before being Prime Minister has been in the House of Commons, apart from Sir

Alec Douglas-Home Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel (; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), styled as Lord Dunglass between 1918 and 1951 and being The 14th Earl of Home from 1951 till 1963, was a British Conservative politician who se ...

's period as a member of the Government while in the House of Lords (1951–63; though he was previously the elected member for

Lanark Lanark (; gd, Lannraig ; sco, Lanrik) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a population of 9 ...

, 1931–1945). After becoming Prime Minister, Douglas-Home returned to the Commons by winning a by-election on the recess death of MP

Gilmour Leburn William Gilmour Leburn (30 July 1913 – 15 August 1963) was a British company director and Conservative Member of Parliament for Kinross and West Perthshire from 1955 until 1963. He served in the government of Harold Macmillan as Under-Secretar ...

Key

* Each dark coloured bar denotes the time spent as Prime Minister * A light colour denotes time spent in Parliament before or after serving as Prime Minister * A grey colour bar denotes the time the prime minister spent outside the House of Commons or the entire Parliament, either before or after their political career

Notable moments since 1800

* ''two separate periods in office:'' Russell,

Palmerston Palmerston may refer to: People * Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer * Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston ** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman an ...

Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a centr ...

, MacDonald,

Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

Wilson Wilson may refer to: People * Wilson (name) ** List of people with given name Wilson ** List of people with surname Wilson * Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender * Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson Ro ...

* ''three separate periods in office:''

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

, Baldwin * ''four separate periods in office:''

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

* ''

crossed the floor Crossed may refer to: * ''Crossed'' (comics), a 2008 comic book series by Garth Ennis * ''Crossed'' (novel), a 2010 young adult novel by Ally Condie * "Crossed" (''The Walking Dead''), an episode of the television series ''The Walking Dead'' S ...

:''

(twice) * ''died in office:''

Canning Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although u ...

Perceval Percival (, also spelled Perceval, Parzival), alternatively called Peredur (), was one of King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. First mentioned by the French author Chrétien de Troyes in the tale ''Perceval, the Story of the ...

(

assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

) * ''died less than six months after leaving office:''

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, Campbell-Bannerman,

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

Chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

* ''left Parliament on leaving office:'' Russell, Baldwin, Blair * ''lived for more than twenty years after leaving the House of Commons:''

Macmillan MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to: People * McMillan (surname) * Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan * Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician * James MacMillan, Scottish composer * William Duncan MacMillan ...

, Douglas-Home, Thatcher,

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

* ''less than twenty years in Parliament before being Prime Minister:'' Baldwin,

, Blair, Cameron,

May May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the third of seven months to have a length of 31 days. May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May ...

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

Truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...

, Sunak * ''more than twenty years in Parliament after being Prime Minister:'' Rosebery, Balfour,

Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for lea ...

Heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

* ''served as Prime Minister after an interruption to their parliamentary career:'' MacDonald,

(twice), Douglas-Home,

* ''served as Prime Minister for two monarchs:'' Walpole,

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of ...

* ''served as Prime Minister for three monarchs:'' Baldwin * ''served as Prime Minister for less than two months:''

* ''feature in two of the lists above:'' Russell,

, MacDonald,

, Blair, Cameron,

* ''feature in three of the lists above:'' Baldwin,

* ''feature in four of the lists above:'' Baldwin,

Timeline

References

* {{Use dmy dates, date=January 2019

Prime Ministers A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Timeline A timeline is a display of a list of events in chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events. Timelines can use any suitable scale representi ...

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 n ...