In the United Kingdom the prime minister is the leader of the executive arm of the British Government and the first minister of the Crown, since the United Kingdom remains a constitutional monarchy and the executive formally governs in the name of the sovereign. It remains the constitutional convention that the prime minister is nominated by the sovereign, although in practice he or she now simply accepts the verdict of the electorate in this matter.
The first formal reference to the existence of the prime minister was in the opening clause of the treaty of Berlin of 1878 when Benjamin Disraeli was referred to as "First Lord of Her Majesty's Treasury and Prime Minister", and remained entirely unrecognised in law until a royal warrant of the 2nd December 1905 granted the holder of the office precedence after the Archbishop of York. The first Act of Parliament to mention the prime minister was the Chequers Estate Act 1917 and the position was only fully recognised in the Salaries of the Ministers of the Crown Act 1937 which made provision for paying "the First Lord of the Treasury and Prime Minister" and made a distinction between the former as an 'office' and the latter as a 'position'.
Generally speaking most prime ministers have also held the office of First Lord of the Treasury, although not exclusively so, but this has been the convention since 1783 despite specific exceptions in the years 1885, 1887, 1891 and 1895.
The First British Prime Minister
Exactly who first coined the term 'prime minister' and whom it should first be applied has always been a matter of debate. The term was certainly in use during the reign of Queen Anne, but gained greater popularity during the reign of George II and was in particular applied to Robert Walpole (although not necessarily intended as a compliment) as regards his position of leadership in the government from the year 1730.
The general consensus is that "Robert Walpole must be regarded as the first prime minister that is, a minister who imposed harmonious action upon his colleagues in the cabinet", although this judgement is by no means universal. Some of his predecessors in the period are also often referred to as 'prime' or 'chief ministers' and are therefore also listed below.
Naming conventions applied
Prime Ministers are listed under their 'ordinary names' when members of the House of Commons and under their peerage titles when members of the House of Lords. Where individuals subsequently received new or additional peerage titles these are have been noted.
The party designation given below refers to the generally accepted designation of the administration in power as opposed to that of the Prime Minister himself. (Or herself in the case of Margaret Thatcher.) Both Tory and Whig were official party designations until the formation of the modern Conservative and Liberal Parties in the nineteenth century.
A: Pre Prime Ministerial First Lords of the Treasury
- Arthur Capell, Earl of Essex (6 Mar 1679 - 19 Nov 1679)
- Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester (19 Nov 1679 - 25 Aug 1684)
- Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin (25 Aug 1684 - 16 Feb 1685)
- Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester (16 Feb 1685 - 5 Jan 1686)
- John Belasyse, 1st Baron Belasyse (5 Jan 1687 - 8 Apr 1689)
- Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough (8 Apr 1689 - 19 Mar 1690 )
- John Lowther (19 Mar 1690 - 15 Nov 1690)
- Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin (15 Nov 1690 - 1 May 1697)
- Charles Montagu (1 May 1697 - 25 Nov 1699)
- Forde Grey, Earl of Tankerville (25 Nov 1699 - 12 Dec 1700)
- Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin (12 Dec 1700 - 27 Dec 1701)
- Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle (27 Dec 1701 - 8 May 1702)
- John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough (8 May 1702-11 Aug 1710)
- John Poulett, 1st Earl Poulett (11 Aug 1710 - 29 Mar 1711)
- Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford (29 Mar 1711 - 30 Jul 1714)
- Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury (30 Jul 1714 - 11 Oct 1714)
- Charles Montagu, Baron of Halifax (11 Oct 1714 - 19 May 1715)
- Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle (23 May 1715 - 10 Oct 1715)
- Robert Walpole (10 Oct 1715 - 9 Jun 1717)
- James Stanhope, 1st Earl of Stanhope (12 Jun 1717 - 21 Mar 1721)
- Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland (21 Mar 1721 - 4 Apr 1721)
B: Prime Ministers
- Robert Walpole (4 Apr 1721 - 11 Feb 1742) Whig
- Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington (16 Feb 1742 - 2 Jul 1743) Whig
- Henry Pelham (27 Aug 1743 - 6 Mar 1754) Whig
- Thomas Pelham Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle (16 Mar 1754 - 16 Nov 1756) Whig
- William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire (16 Nov 1756 - 2 Jul 1757) Whig
- Thomas Pelham Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle (2 Jul 1757 - 26 May 1762) Whig
- John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (26 May 1762 - 16 Apr 1763) Tory
- George Grenville (16 Apr 1763 - 13 Jul 1765) Whig
- Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham (13 Jul 1765 - 30 Jul 1766) Whig
- William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham (30 Jul 1766 - 14 Oct 1768) Whig 2.
- Augustus Henry Fitzroy, 3rd Duke of Grafton (14 Oct 1768 - 28 Jan 1770) Tory
- Frederick North, Lord North (28 Jan 1770 - 22 Mar 1782) Tory 3.
- Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham (27 Mar 1782 - 1 Jul 1782) Whig
- William Petty-Fitzmaurice, 2nd Earl of Shelburne (4 Jul 1782 - 2 Apr 1783) Whig 4.
- William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland (2 Apr 1783 - 19 Dec 1783) Whig
- William Pitt the Younger (19 Dec 1783 - 14 Mar 1801) Tory
- Henry Addington (17 Mar 1801 - 10 May 1804) Tory
- William Pitt the Younger (10 May 1804 - 23 Jan 1806) Tory
- William Wyndham Grenville, Baron Grenville (11 Feb 1806 - 31 Mar 1807) Coalition
- William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland (31 Mar 1807 - 4 Oct 1809) Whig
- Spencer Perceval (4 Oct 1809 - 11 May 1812) Tory
- Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (8 Jun 1812 - 12 Apr 1827) Tory
- George Canning (12 Apr 1827 - 8 Aug 1827) Tory
- Frederick John Robinson, Viscount Goderich (31 Aug 1827 - 22 Jan 1828) Tory 6.
- Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (22 Jan 1828 - 22 Nov 1830) Tory
- Charles Grey, Earl Grey (22 Nov 1830 - 16 Jul 1834) Whig
- William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (16 Jul 1834 - 17 Nov 1834) Whig
- Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (17 Nov 1834 - 10 Dec 1834) Tory
- Robert Peel (10 Dec 1834 - 18 Apr 1835) Tory
- William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (18 Apr 1835 - 30 Aug 1841) Whig
- Robert Peel (30 Aug 1841 - 30 Jun 1846) Conservative
- Lord John Russell (30 Jun 1846 - 23 Feb 1852) Liberal
- Edward Geoffrey Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby (23 Feb 1852 - 19 Dec 1852) Conservative
- George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (19 Dec 1852 - 6 Feb 1855) Conservative
- Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (6 Feb 1855 - 20 Feb 1858) Liberal
- Edward Geoffrey Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby (20 Feb 1858 - 12 Jun 1859) Conservative
- Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (12 Jun 1859 - 18 Oct 1865) Liberal
- John Russell, 1st Earl Russell (29 Oct 1865 - 28 Jun 1866) Liberal
- Edward Geoffrey Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby (28 Jun 1866 - 27 Feb 1868) Conservative
- Benjamin Disraeli (27 Feb 1868 - 3 Dec 1868) Conservative 7.
- William Ewart Gladstone (3 Dec 1868 - 20 Feb 1874) Liberal
- Benjamin Disraeli (20 Feb 1874 - 23 Apr 1880) Conservative
- William Ewart Gladstone (23 Apr 1880 - 23 Jun 1885) Liberal
- Robert Arthur Talbot-Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (23 Jun 1885 - 1 Feb 1886) Conservative
- William Ewart Gladstone (1 Feb 1886 - 25 Jul 1886) Liberal
- Robert Arthur Talbot-Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (25 Jul 1886 - 15 Aug 1892) Conservative
- William Ewart Gladstone (15 Aug 1892 - 5 Mar 1894) Liberal
- Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery (5 Mar 1894 - 25 Jun 1895) Liberal
- Robert Arthur Talbot-Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (25 Jun 1895 - 12 Jul 1902) Conservative
- Arthur James Balfour (12 Jul 1902 - 5 Dec 1905) Conservative 8.
- Henry Campbell-Bannerman (5 Dec 1905 - 7 Apr 1908) Liberal
- Herbert Asquith (7 Apr 1908 - 7 Dec 1916) Liberal 9.
- David Lloyd George (7 Dec 1916 - 23 Oct 1922) Coalition 10.
- Andrew Bonar Law (23 Oct 1922 - 22 May 1923) Conservative
- Stanley Baldwin (22 May 1923 - 22 Jan 1924) Conservative
- Ramsay MacDonald (22 Jan 1924 - 4 Nov 1924) Labour
- Stanley Baldwin (4 Nov 1924 - 5 Jun 1929) Conservative
- Ramsay MacDonald (5 Jun 1929 - 24 August 1931) Labour
- Ramsay MacDonald (24 August 1931 - 7 Jun 1935) National Coalition
- Stanley Baldwin (7 Jun 1935 - 28 May 1937) National Coalition 11.
- Neville Chamberlain (28 May 1937 - 10 May 1940) National Coalition
- Winston Churchill (10 May 1940 - 23 May 1945) Coalition
- Winston Churchill (23 May 1945 -26 Jul 1945) Conservative
- Clement Attlee (26 Jul 1945 - 26 Oct 1951) Labour
- Winston Churchill (26 Oct 1951 - 6 Apr 1955) Conservative
- Anthony Eden (6 Apr 1955 - 10 Jan 1957) Conservative 12.
- Harold Macmillan (10 Jan 1957 - 19 Oct 1963) Conservative 13.
- Alex Douglas-Home (19 Oct 1963 - 16 Oct 1964) Conservative 14.
- Harold Wilson (16 Oct 1964 - 19 Jun 1970) Labour
- Edward Heath (19 Jun 1970 - 4 Mar 1974) Conservative
- Harold Wilson (4 Mar 1974 - 5 Apr 1976) Labour
- James Callaghan (5 Apr 1976 - 4 May 1979) Labour
- Margaret Thatcher (4 May 1979 - 28 Nov 1990) Conservative
- John Major (28 Nov 1990 - 2 May 1997) Conservative
- Tony Blair (2 May 1997 - 27 June 2007) Labour
- Gordon Brown (27 June 2007 - 11 May 2010) Labour
- David Cameron (11 May 2010 - 13 July 2016) Conservative
- Theresa May (13 July 2016 - 24 July 2019) Conservative
- Boris Johnson (24 July 2019 - 6 September 2022) Conservative
- Liz Truss (6 September 2022 - to date) Conservative
NOTES
1. Later created Earl of Godolphin
2. Some accounts argue that William Pitt the Elder as leader of the House of Commons was really prime minister in the period between December 1756 and April 1757 and again between July 1757 to October 1761.
3. universally known under his courtesy title of Lord North as he didn't succeed his father as Earl of Guildford until the 4 th August 1790.
4. Later Marquess of Lansdowne
5. Later Earl of Beaconfield
6. Later Earl of Ripon
7. Later Earl of Beaconfield
8. Later Earl of Balfour
9. Later Earl of Oxford
10. Later Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor
11. Later Earl Baldwin of Bewdley
12. Later Earl of Avon
13. Later Earl of Stockton
13. To be precise was the Earl of Home when he became prime minister but disclaimed that title on the 23 Oct 1963, and became plain Sir Alec Douglas-Home. Later a life peer as Baron Home of the Hirsel
15. Later a life peer as Baron Wilson of Rievaulx
16. Later a life peer as Baron Callaghan of Cardiff.
17. Later a life peer as Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven
SOURCES - complied from www.pm.gov.uk and www.worldstatesmen.org together with The Companion to British History by Charles Arnold Baker, Longross Press 1996