Living Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister | Date of birth | Tenure |
---|---|---|
Sir John Major | 29 March 1943 | 1990–1997 |
Gordon Brown | 20 February 1951 | 2007–2010 |
Tony Blair | 6 May 1953 | 1997–2007 |
Theresa May | 1 October 1956 | 2016– |
David Cameron | 9 October 1966 | 2010–2016 |
This is a chronological list of all the living persons who have served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at each moment in British history.
There have been four time periods when there was only a single living Prime Minister, first with the appointment of Robert Walpole in 1721 and most recently during the second ministry of William Ewart Gladstone following the 1881 death of Benjamin Disraeli.
There have been ten time periods when six living current or former prime ministers co-existed, with the longest being a nine-year period beginning with the first appointment of Sir Robert Peel in 1834. The most recent period was from the 1990 appointment of John Major and the 1995 death of Harold Wilson. Whereas the United States has had four periods in which six current or former presidents co-existed. There has been one time period with no living prime minister, a period of ten days in 1754, following the death of Henry Pelham on 6 March until the appointment of the Duke of Newcastle. Whereas the US has had no such period where there was no living president.
If one were to include future prime ministers, there has been only one time period when nineteen different prime ministers co-existed.
Timeline of living prime ministers
Colour key: | Whig | Tory | Conservative | Peelite | Liberal | Labour |
---|
Start date | End date | Start event | Interval | End event | Living prime ministers | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 April 1721 | 16 February 1742 | Appointment of Robert Walpole | 20 years and 319 days | Appointment of Lord Wilmington | 1 | |
16 February 1742 | 2 July 1743 | Appointment of Lord Wilmington | 1 year and 136 days | Death of Lord Wilmington | 2 |
|
2 July 1743 | 27 August 1743 | Death of Lord Wilmington | 56 days | Appointment of Henry Pelham | 1 |
|
27 August 1743 | 18 March 1745 | Appointment of Henry Pelham | 1 year and 203 days | Death of Robert Walpole | 2 |
|
18 March 1745 | 6 March 1754 | Death of Robert Walpole | 8 years and 353 days | Death of Henry Pelham | 1 |
|
6 March 1754 | 16 March 1754 | Death of Henry Pelham | 10 days | Appointment of the Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne | No living prime ministers | |
16 March 1754 | 16 November 1756 | Appointment of the Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne | 2 years and 245 days | Appointment of the Duke of Devonshire | 1 | |
16 November 1756 | 26 May 1762 | Appointment of the Duke of Devonshire | 5 years and 191 days | Appointment of Lord Bute | 2 |
|
26 May 1762 | 16 April 1763 | Appointment of Lord Bute | 325 days | Appointment of George Grenville | 3 |
|
16 April 1763 | 2 October 1764 | Appointment of George Grenville | 1 year and 169 days | Death of the Duke of Devonshire | 4 |
|
2 October 1764 | 13 July 1765 | Death of the Duke of Devonshire | 284 days | Appointment of Lord Rockingham | 3 |
|
13 July 1765 | 30 July 1766 | Appointment of Lord Rockingham | 1 year and 17 days | Appointment of William Pitt the Elder | 4 |
|
30 July 1766 | 14 October 1768 | Appointment of William Pitt the Elder | 2 years and 76 days | Appointment of the Duke of Grafton | 5 |
|
14 October 1768 | 17 November 1768 | Appointment of the Duke of Grafton | 34 days | Death of the Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne | 6 |
|
17 November 1768 | 28 January 1770 | Death of the Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne | 1 year and 72 days | Appointment of Lord North | 5 |
|
28 January 1770 | 13 November 1770 | Appointment of Lord North | 289 days | Death of George Grenville | 6 |
|
13 November 1770 | 11 May 1778 | Death of George Grenville | 7 years and 179 days | Death of William Pitt the Elder | 5 |
|
11 May 1778 | 1 July 1782 | Death of William Pitt the Elder | 4 years and 51 days | Death of Lord Rockingham | 4 |
|
1 July 1782 | 4 July 1782 | Death of Lord Rockingham | 3 days | Appointment of Lord Shelburne | 3 |
|
4 July 1782 | 2 April 1783 | Appointment of Lord Shelburne | 272 days | Appointment of the Duke of Portland | 4 |
|
2 April 1783 | 19 December 1783 | Appointment of the Duke of Portland | 261 days | Appointment of William Pitt the Younger | 5 |
|
19 December 1783 | 10 March 1792 | Appointment of William Pitt the Younger | 8 years and 82 days | Death of Lord Bute | 6 |
|
10 March 1792 | 5 August 1792 | Death of Lord Bute | 148 days | Death of Lord North | 5 |
|
5 August 1792 | 17 March 1801 | Death of Lord North | 8 years and 224 days | Appointment of Henry Addington | 4 |
|
17 March 1801 | 7 May 1805 | Appointment of Henry Addington | 4 years and 51 days | Death of Lord Shelburne | 5 |
|
7 May 1805 | 23 January 1806 | Death of Lord Shelburne | 261 days | Death of William Pitt the Younger | 4 |
|
23 January 1806 | 11 February 1806 | Death of William Pitt the Younger | 19 days | Appointment of Lord Grenville | 3 |
|
11 February 1806 | 4 October 1809 | Appointment of Lord Grenville | 3 years and 235 days | Appointment of Spencer Perceval | 4 |
|
4 October 1809 | 30 October 1809 | Appointment of Spencer Perceval | 26 days | Death of the Duke of Portland | 5 |
|
30 October 1809 | 14 March 1811 | Death of the Duke of Portland | 1 year and 135 days | Death of the Duke of Grafton | 4 |
|
14 March 1811 | 11 May 1812 | Death of the Duke of Grafton | 1 year and 58 days | Assassination of Spencer Perceval | 3 |
|
11 May 1812 | 8 June 1812 | Assassination of Spencer Perceval | 28 days | Appointment of Lord Liverpool | 2 |
|
8 June 1812 | 12 April 1827 | Appointment of Lord Liverpool | 14 years and 308 days | Appointment of George Canning | 3 |
|
12 April 1827 | 8 August 1827 | Appointment of George Canning | 118 days | Death of George Canning | 4 |
|
8 August 1827 | 31 August 1827 | Death of George Canning | 23 days | Appointment of Lord Goderich | 3 |
|
31 August 1827 | 22 January 1828 | Appointment of Lord Goderich | 144 days | Appointment of the Duke of Wellington | 4 |
|
22 January 1828 | 4 December 1828 | Appointment of the Duke of Wellington | 317 days | Death of Lord Liverpool | 5 |
|
4 December 1828 | 22 November 1830 | Death of Lord Liverpool | 1 year and 353 days | Appointment of Lord Grey | 4 |
|
22 November 1830 | 12 January 1834 | Appointment of Lord Grey | 3 years and 51 days | Death of Lord Grenville | 5 |
|
12 January 1834 | 16 July 1834 | Death of Lord Grenville | 185 days | Appointment of Lord Melbourne | 4 |
|
16 July 1834 | 10 December 1834 | Appointment of Lord Melbourne | 147 days | Appointment of Sir Robert Peel | 5 |
|
10 December 1834 | 15 February 1844 | Appointment of Sir Robert Peel | 9 years and 67 days | Death of Henry Addington | 6 |
|
15 February 1844 | 17 July 1845 | Death of Henry Addington | 1 year and 152 days | Death of Lord Grey | 5 |
|
17 July 1845 | 30 June 1846 | Death of Lord Grey | 348 days | Appointment of Lord John Russell | 4 |
|
30 June 1846 | 24 November 1848 | Appointment of Lord John Russell | 2 years and 147 days | Death of Lord Melbourne | 5 |
|
24 November 1848 | 2 July 1850 | Death of Lord Melbourne | 1 year and 220 days | Death of Sir Robert Peel | 4 |
|
2 July 1850 | 23 February 1852 | Death of Sir Robert Peel | 1 year and 236 days | Appointment of Lord Derby | 3 |
|
23 February 1852 | 14 September 1852 | Appointment of Lord Derby | 204 days | Death of the Duke of Wellington | 4 |
|
14 September 1852 | 19 December 1852 | Death of the Duke of Wellington | 96 days | Appointment of Lord Aberdeen | 3 |
|
19 December 1852 | 6 February 1855 | Appointment of Lord Aberdeen | 2 years and 49 days | Appointment of Lord Palmerston | 4 |
|
6 February 1855 | 28 January 1859 | Appointment of Lord Palmerston | 3 years and 356 days | Death of Lord Goderich | 5 |
|
28 January 1859 | 14 December 1860 | Death of Lord Goderich | 1 year and 321 days | Death of Lord Aberdeen | 4 |
|
14 December 1860 | 18 October 1865 | Death of Lord Aberdeen | 4 years and 308 days | Death of Lord Palmerston | 3 |
|
18 October 1865 | 27 February 1868 | Death of Lord Palmerston | 2 years and 132 days | Appointment of Benjamin Disraeli | 2 |
|
27 February 1868 | 3 December 1868 | Appointment of Benjamin Disraeli | 280 days | Appointment of William Ewart Gladstone | 3 |
|
3 December 1868 | 23 October 1869 | Appointment of William Ewart Gladstone | 324 days | Death of Lord Derby | 4 |
|
23 October 1869 | 28 May 1878 | Death of Lord Derby | 8 years and 217 days | Death of Lord John Russell | 3 |
|
28 May 1878 | 19 April 1881 | Death of Lord John Russell | 2 years and 326 days | Death of Benjamin Disraeli | 2 |
|
19 April 1881 | 23 June 1885 | Death of Benjamin Disraeli | 4 years and 65 days | Appointment of Lord Salisbury | 1 |
|
23 June 1885 | 5 March 1894 | Appointment of Lord Salisbury | 8 years and 255 days | Appointment of Lord Rosebery | 2 |
|
5 March 1894 | 19 May 1898 | Appointment of Lord Rosebery | 4 years and 75 days | Death of William Ewart Gladstone | 3 |
|
19 May 1898 | 12 July 1902 | Death of William Ewart Gladstone | 4 years and 54 days | Appointment of Arthur Balfour | 2 |
|
12 July 1902 | 22 August 1903 | Appointment of Arthur Balfour | 1 year and 41 days | Death of Lord Salisbury | 3 |
|
22 August 1903 | 5 December 1905 | Death of Lord Salisbury | 2 years and 105 days | Appointment of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman | 2 |
|
5 December 1905 | 5 April 1908 | Appointment of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman | 2 years and 122 days | Appointment of H. H. Asquith | 3 |
|
5 April 1908 | 22 April 1908 | Appointment of H. H. Asquith | 17 days | Death of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman | 4 |
|
22 April 1908 | 6 December 1916 | Death of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman | 8 years and 228 days | Appointment of David Lloyd George | 3 |
|
6 December 1916 | 23 October 1922 | Appointment of David Lloyd George | 5 years and 321 days | Appointment of Bonar Law | 4 |
|
23 October 1922 | 22 May 1923 | Appointment of Bonar Law | 211 days | Appointment of Stanley Baldwin | 5 |
|
22 May 1923 | 30 October 1923 | Appointment of Stanley Baldwin | 161 days | Death of Bonar Law | 6 |
|
30 October 1923 | 22 January 1924 | Death of Bonar Law | 84 days | Appointment of Ramsay MacDonald | 5 |
|
22 January 1924 | 15 February 1928 | Appointment of Ramsay MacDonald | 4 years and 24 days | Death of H. H. Asquith | 6 |
|
15 February 1928 | 21 May 1929 | Death of H. H. Asquith | 1 year and 95 days | Death of Lord Rosebery | 5 |
|
21 May 1929 | 19 March 1930 | Death of Lord Rosebery | 302 days | Death of Arthur Balfour | 4 |
|
19 March 1930 | 28 May 1937 | Death of Arthur Balfour | 7 years and 70 days | Appointment of Neville Chamberlain | 3 |
|
28 May 1937 | 9 November 1937 | Appointment of Neville Chamberlain | 165 days | Death of Ramsay MacDonald | 4 |
|
9 November 1937 | 10 May 1940 | Death of Ramsay MacDonald | 2 years and 183 days | Appointment of Winston Churchill | 3 |
|
10 May 1940 | 9 November 1940 | Appointment of Winston Churchill | 183 days | Death of Neville Chamberlain | 4 |
|
9 November 1940 | 26 March 1945 | Death of Neville Chamberlain | 4 years and 137 days | Death of David Lloyd George | 3 |
|
26 March 1945 | 26 July 1945 | Death of David Lloyd George | 122 days | Appointment of Clement Attlee | 2 |
|
26 July 1945 | 14 December 1947 | Appointment of Clement Attlee | 2 years and 141 days | Death of Stanley Baldwin | 3 |
|
14 December 1947 | 6 April 1955 | Death of Stanley Baldwin | 7 years and 113 days | Appointment of Sir Anthony Eden | 2 |
|
6 April 1955 | 10 January 1957 | Appointment of Sir Anthony Eden | 1 year and 279 days | Appointment of Harold Macmillan | 3 |
|
10 January 1957 | 19 October 1963 | Appointment of Harold Macmillan | 6 years and 282 days | Appointment of Lord Home | 4 |
|
19 October 1963 | 16 October 1964 | Appointment of Lord Home | 363 days | Appointment of Harold Wilson | 5 |
|
16 October 1964 | 24 January 1965 | Appointment of Harold Wilson | 100 days | Death of Winston Churchill | 6 |
|
24 January 1965 | 8 October 1967 | Death of Winston Churchill | 2 years and 257 days | Death of Clement Attlee | 5 |
|
8 October 1967 | 19 June 1970 | Death of Clement Attlee | 2 years and 254 days | Appointment of Edward Heath | 4 |
|
19 June 1970 | 5 April 1976 | Appointment of Edward Heath | 5 years and 291 days | Appointment of James Callaghan | 5 |
|
5 April 1976 | 14 January 1977 | Appointment of James Callaghan | 284 days | Death of Sir Anthony Eden | 6 |
|
14 January 1977 | 4 May 1979 | Death of Sir Anthony Eden | 2 years and 110 days | Appointment of Margaret Thatcher | 5 |
|
4 May 1979 | 29 December 1986 | Appointment of Margaret Thatcher | 7 years and 239 days | Death of Harold Macmillan | 6 |
|
29 December 1986 | 28 November 1990 | Death of Harold Macmillan | 3 years and 334 days | Appointment of John Major | 5 |
|
28 November 1990 | 24 May 1995 | Appointment of John Major | 4 years and 177 days | Death of Harold Wilson | 6 |
|
24 May 1995 | 9 October 1995 | Death of Harold Wilson | 138 days | Death of Lord Home | 5 |
|
9 October 1995 | 2 May 1997 | Death of Lord Home | 1 year and 205 days | Appointment of Tony Blair | 4 |
|
2 May 1997 | 26 March 2005 | Appointment of Tony Blair | 7 years and 328 days | Death of James Callaghan | 5 |
|
26 March 2005 | 17 July 2005 | Death of James Callaghan | 113 days | Death of Edward Heath | 4 |
|
17 July 2005 | 27 June 2007 | Death of Edward Heath | 1 year and 345 days | Appointment of Gordon Brown | 3 |
|
27 June 2007 | 11 May 2010 | Appointment of Gordon Brown | 2 years and 318 days | Appointment of David Cameron | 4 |
|
11 May 2010 | 8 April 2013 | Appointment of David Cameron | 2 years and 332 days | Death of Margaret Thatcher | 5 |
|
8 April 2013 | 13 July 2016 | Death of Margaret Thatcher | 3 years and 96 days | Appointment of Theresa May | 4 |
|
13 July 2016 | present | Appointment of Theresa May | 2 years and 91 days | 5 |
|
Statistics
- There have been four men who have been the only living Prime Minister: Sir Robert Walpole (as the first, from April 1721 to February 1742), Henry Pelham (from Walpole's death in March 1745 to March 1754), the Duke of Newcastle (from Newcastle's appointment in March 1754 to November 1756) and William Ewart Gladstone (from Benjamin Disraeli's death in April 1881 to June 1885).
- During ten periods in the history of Great Britain and the United Kingdom from 1801 to present, there have been six persons alive to have been Prime Minister. Such periods include: from October to November 1768 (when Newcastle, Lord Bute, George Grenville, Lord Rockingham, Lord Chatham and the Duke of Grafton were alive); from January to November 1770 (when Bute, George Grenville, Rockingham, Chatham, Grafton and Lord North were alive); from December 1783 to March 1792 (when Bute, Grafton, North, Lord Shelburne, the Duke of Portland and William Pitt were alive); from December 1834 to February 1844 (when Henry Addington, Lord Goderich, the Duke of Wellington, Lord Grey, Lord Melbourne and Sir Robert Peel were alive); from May to October 1923 (when Lord Rosebery, Arthur Balfour, H. H. Asquith, David Lloyd George, Bonar Law and Stanley Baldwin were alive); from January 1924 to February 1928 (when Rosebery, Balfour, Asquith, Lloyd George, Baldwin and Ramsay MacDonald were alive); from October 1964 to January 1965 (when Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee, Sir Anthony Eden, Harold Macmillan, Sir Alec Douglas-Home and Harold Wilson were alive); from April 1976 to January 1977 (when Eden, Macmillan, Home, Wilson, Edward Heath and James Callaghan were alive); from May 1979 to December 1986 (when Macmillan, Home, Wilson, Heath, Callaghan and Margaret Thatcher were alive). The tenth and most recent period was from November 1990 to May 1995 (when Home, Wilson, Heath, Callaghan, Thatcher and John Major were alive). Of these periods, the earliest two and the most recent three consisted of each Prime Minister appointed consecutively. The longest period where there have been six living prime ministers was 9 years and 67 days, ending with the death of Addington in February 1844.
- There has been only one period where there has been no living prime minister in March 1754 following Pelham's death on 6 March to Newcastle's appointment on 16 March.
- Newcastle was the only person to be both the only living Prime Minister (from March 1754 to November 1756) and one of the six living prime ministers (from October to November 1768).
- There have been 21 premierships during which a Prime Minister has not died, the most recent being Gordon Brown's premiership. This does not include the premierships of Lord Wilmington, Rockingham and George Canning (who were themselves the only prime ministers to die during their premierships), nor the premiership of incumbent Theresa May (as no Prime Minister has died since Thatcher, who died during David Cameron's premiership). Conversely, only twice (during the premierships of Pitt and Baldwin) has there been as many as three deaths during a premiership. (This does not count the Spencer Perceval's premiership, whose own death was the third during his ministry). The longest streak of premierships without a prime ministerial death is three, which has happened twice: no Prime Minister died during the premierships of Newcastle, the Duke of Devonshire or Bute; nor would a Prime Minister die during the premierships of Eden, Macmillan or Douglas-Home. If one were to include the multiple terms served by each Prime Minister that had been in office more than once, the record is five: no Prime Minister died during Salisbury's first ministry, Gladstone's third ministry, Salisbury's second ministry, Gladstone's fourth ministry or during the premiership of Rosebery.
- Because he was the first Prime Minister, and the fact that he served for more than twenty years, Walpole holds the distinction of serving over the longest period during which no prime ministers died. The second longest term without a death of a Prime Minister would be that of Lord Liverpool who served almost fifteen years in office. In recent years, the Prime Minister who served the longest without a death during his term was Macmillan, who served for almost seven years in office.
- The longest period between deaths of prime ministers was the 17 years and 41 days between the deaths of Baldwin on 14 December 1947 and Churchill on 24 January 1965. The shortest was the 113 days between the deaths of Callaghan on 26 March 2005 and Heath on 17 July 2005.
- If the longest period between deaths is to be exceeded, no Prime Minister must die before 19 May 2030 (the current oldest and second oldest surviving prime ministers, Major and Brown, would then be 87 and 79 years old respectively).
- The second longest was the 17 years and 30 days between the deaths of Disraeli on 19 April 1881 and Gladstone on 19 May 1898.
- Only three times (in 1792, 1995 and 2005) have there been two prime ministers dying in the same year.
- Following his premiership's end in 1804, Addington lived to see a record 14 premierships prior to his death in February 1844. Goderich follows with 12 premierships after his own premiership ended in 1828, prior to his death in January 1859. In modern times, the Prime Minister to have lived to see the most premierships following their own was Lloyd George, with eight following the end of his premiership in 1922.
- If one includes future as well as past and current prime ministers, the record sits at nineteen:
- Between Disraeli's birth on 21 December 1804 and Shelburne's death on 7 May 1805, the following prime ministers were alive: Grafton, Shelburne, Portland, Pitt, Addington, Lord Grenville, Perceval, Liverpool, Canning, Goderich, Wellington, Grey, Melbourne, Peel, Lord John Russell, Lord Derby, Lord Aberdeen, Lord Palmerston and Disraeli.
- Since 6 April 1955 (a period of 63 years, 189 days), there have been at least three living prime ministers.
See also
British Prime Ministers – Wikipedia book - Living Presidents of the United States
- Records of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom
- List of current heads of government in the United Kingdom and dependencies
References
- Englefield, Dermot; Seaton, Janet; White, Isobel (1995). "Comparative Data". Facts About the British Prime Ministers. Mansell Publishing. pp. 359–363, 415. ISBN 978-0-7201-2306-7.
- "Past Prime Ministers". Gov.uk. UK Government. Archived from the original on 25 August 2008.