UK Prime Ministers timeline
Encyclopedia
This timeline shows the birth, death and political career of each Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from Lord Palmerston. Unlike countries where the leader is elected directly to high office, the Prime Minister
must first establish a political career in Parliament and typically serves many years in the House of Commons
before becoming Prime Minister, and in some cases for many years afterwards.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
must first establish a political career in Parliament and typically serves many years in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
before becoming Prime Minister, and in some cases for many years afterwards.
Key
- The 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
- Grey denotes the time the Prime Minister spent outside Parliament, either before or after their political career
Parliament
For Prime Ministers after the Earl of Rosebery, Parliament refers to the House of Commons, apart from Sir Alec Douglas-Home's period as a member of the Government while in the House of Lords from 1951-63.Notable achievements
- changed party: Viscount Palmerston, Earl of DerbyEdward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of DerbyEdward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, KG, PC was an English statesman, three times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and to date the longest serving leader of the Conservative Party. He was known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley...
, GladstoneWilliam Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
, ChurchillWinston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
(twice) - died in office: Palmerston
- died shortly after leaving office: Campbell-BannermanHenry Campbell-BannermanSir Henry Campbell-Bannerman GCB was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and Leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 1908. He also served as Secretary of State for War twice, in the Cabinets of Gladstone and Rosebery...
, Bonar Law, ChamberlainNeville ChamberlainArthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the... - left Parliament on leaving office: RussellJohn Russell, 1st Earl RussellJohn Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC , known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century....
, BaldwinStanley BaldwinStanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...
, BlairTony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007... - long career after being Prime Minister: RoseberyArchibald Primrose, 5th Earl of RoseberyArchibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, KG, PC was a British Liberal statesman and Prime Minister. Between the death of his father, in 1851, and the death of his grandfather, the 4th Earl, in 1868, he was known by the courtesy title of Lord Dalmeny.Rosebery was a Liberal Imperialist who...
, BalfourArthur BalfourArthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, KG, OM, PC, DL was a British Conservative politician and statesman...
, Lloyd GeorgeDavid Lloyd GeorgeDavid Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
, HeathEdward HeathSir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party .... - served as Prime Minister after an interruption to their political career: MacDonald, Churchill, MacmillanHarold MacmillanMaurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
(twice), Douglas-HomeAlec Douglas-HomeAlexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC , known as The Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 and as Sir Alec Douglas-Home from 1963 to 1974, was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1963 to October 1964.He is the last... - lived for more than twenty years after leaving Parliament: Macmillan, Douglas-Home, ThatcherMargaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...