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 of Great Britain 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" bar:Wilmington from: 1742 till: 1743 color:whig text:" The Earl of Wilmington" bar:Pelham from: 1743 till: 1754 color:whig text:" Henry Pelham" bar:Newcastle from: 1754 till: 1756 color:whig from: 1757 till: 1762 color:whig text:"

The Duke of Newcastle Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne and 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, (21 July 169317 November 1768) was a British Whig statesman who served as the 4th and 6th Prime Minister of Great Britain, his official life extended ...

" 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" 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" 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 William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, (14 April 173830 October 1809) was a British British Whig Party, Whig and then a Tory politician during the late Georgian era. He served as List of Chancellors of the Universit ...

" bar:PittJr from: 1783 till: 1801 color:tory text:" William Pitt the Younger"

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:" William Pitt the Younger" 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:"

" bar:Perceval from: 04/10/1809 till: 11/05/1812 color:tory text:" Spencer Perceval" 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" bar:Grey from: 22/11/1830 till: 09/07/1834 color:whig text:"

The Earl Grey Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (13 March 1764 – 17 July 1845), known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807, was a British Whig politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1830 to 1834. He was a member of the nob ...

" 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" 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" 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" bar:CBannerman from: 05/12/1905 till: 03/04/1908 color:liberal text:" Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman" 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"

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, the prime minister must first establish a political career in the UK Parliament and typically serves many years in the House of Commons before becoming Prime Minister, and in some cases for many years afterwards. Since the Marquess of Salisbury 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, 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-Secretary ...

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 Russell may refer to: People * Russell (given name) * Russell (surname) * Lady Russell (disambiguation) * Lord Russell (disambiguation) Places Australia *Russell, Australian Capital Territory *Russell Island, Queensland (disambiguation) **Ru ...

, Palmerston, Disraeli, 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, Salisbury,

Baldwin Baldwin is a Germanic name, composed of the elements ''bald'' "bold" and ''win'' "friend". People * Baldwin (name) Places Canada * Baldwin, York Regional Municipality, Ontario * Baldwin, Ontario, in Sudbury District * Baldwin's Mills, Qu ...

* ''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 ...

:'' Palmerston, Derby,

(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 ...

, Palmerston, Perceval (

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, Chamberlain * ''left Parliament on leaving office:''

Blair Blair is an English-language name of Scottish Gaelic origin. The surname is derived from any of the numerous places in Scotland called ''Blair'', derived from the Scottish Gaelic ''blàr'', meaning "plain", "meadow" or "field", frequently a “ba ...

* ''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:''

, Chamberlain,

Cameron Cameron may refer to: People * Clan Cameron, a Scottish clan * Cameron (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Cameron (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) ;Mononym * Cam'ron (born 197 ...

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

Balfour Balfour may refer to: People Earls of Balfour * Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (1848–1930), British Conservative politician, Prime Minister of the UK (1902-1905), made the public statement of Balfour Declaration * Gerald Balfour, 2n ...

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

(twice), Douglas-Home, Johnson * ''served as Prime Minister for two monarchs:'' Walpole, Newcastle, Liverpool, Wellington, Melbourne, Salisbury,

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 ...

, Truss * ''served as Prime Minister for three monarchs:''

* ''served as Prime Minister for less than two months:'' Truss * ''feature in two of the lists above:''

, Derby,

, MacDonald,

, Palmerston,

, Johnson, Truss * ''feature in three of the lists above:''

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

Timeline

References

* {{Use dmy dates, date=January 2019 Prime Ministers Timeline Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom