List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom facts for kids

The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the most important minister in the King's government and leads the Cabinet. The Cabinet is a group of senior ministers who make big decisions for the country.

The job of prime minister didn't start on a specific date. It grew over time as different duties were combined. People started using the term "prime minister" informally in the 1730s, especially for Robert Walpole. It was used in the House of Commons by 1805 and became an official title in 1905 when Arthur Balfour was prime minister.

Most historians agree that Robert Walpole was the first prime minister. He led the government of Great Britain for more than 20 years starting in 1721. He is also the longest-serving British prime minister. When the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was formed on January 1, 1801, William Pitt the Younger became its first prime minister. The first person to officially use the title was Benjamin Disraeli in 1878.

In 1905, the prime minister's job was officially recognized. Henry Campbell-Bannerman was the first to be officially called "prime minister." When the current United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was created in 1922 (after 26 Irish counties left to form the Irish Free State), Andrew Bonar Law was the first prime minister. The country's name officially changed in 1927, when Stanley Baldwin was in office.

The current prime minister is Keir Starmer, who took office on July 5, 2024.

How the Job Began

Before 1707, when England and Scotland joined to form Great Britain, the English government's money department (the Treasury) was led by the Lord High Treasurer. This person was often very powerful. For example, William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley was a key minister to Queen Elizabeth I.

Later, the Treasury was often run by a group of "lords of the Treasury," led by the first lord of the Treasury. After 1714, this group leadership became the normal way of doing things. The person who held the job of First Lord of the Treasury usually became the unofficial prime minister. It wasn't until the early 1900s that "prime minister" became an official title.

Prime Ministers Since 1721

This table shows the people who have served as prime minister of Great Britain or the United Kingdom since 1721. It includes their time in office, their political party, and the monarch they served under.

Quick Links

• • 1700s
  • 1800s
  • 1900s
  • 2000s

• ---

• • George I
  • George II
  • George III
  • George IV
  • William IV
  • Victoria
  • Edward VII
  • George V
  • Edward VIII
  • George VI
  • Elizabeth II
  • Charles III

• ---

• •      Conservative   (20)
  •      Whig   (16)
  •      Tory   (10)
  •      Labour   (7)
  •      Liberal   (7)
  •      Scottish Unionists   (2)
  •      National Labour   (1)
  •      Peelite   (1)

List of prime ministers of Great Britain or the United Kingdom since 1721

Picture		Prime Minister Job (Years Lived)	Time in Office			Election	Main Jobs as PM	Party	Government	Monarch Reign
			Start	End	How Long
​		Robert Walpole MP for King's Lynn (1676–1745)	April 3 1721	February 11 1742	20 years, 315 days	1722	Chancellor of the Exchequer First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Whig	Walpole–​Townshend	George I r. 1714 – 1727
						1727				George II r. 1727 – 1760
						1734			Walpole
						1741
		Spencer Compton 1st Earl of Wilmington (1673–1743)	February 16 1742	July 2 1743	1 year, 137 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury		Carteret
		Henry Pelham MP for Sussex (1694–1754)	August 27 1743	March 6 1754	10 years, 192 days	—	Chancellor of the Exchequer First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons		Broad Bottom I
						1747			Broad Bottom II
		Thomas Pelham-Holles 1st Duke of Newcastle (1693–1768)	March 16 1754	November 11 1756	2 years, 241 days	1754	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords		Newcastle I
		William Cavendish 4th Duke of Devonshire (1720–1764)	November 16 1756	June 29 1757	226 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords Lord Treasurer of Ireland		Pitt–​Devonshire
									1757 Caretaker
		Thomas Pelham-Holles 1st Duke of Newcastle (1693–1768)	June 29 1757	May 26 1762	4 years, 332 days	1761	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords		Pitt–​Newcastle
									Bute–​Newcastle (Tory–​Whig)	George III r. 1760 – 1820
		John Stuart 3rd Earl of Bute (1713–1792)	May 26 1762	April 8 1763	318 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Tory	Bute
		George Grenville MP for Buckingham (1712–1770)	April 16 1763	July 10 1765	2 years, 86 days	—	Chancellor of the Exchequer First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Whig	Grenville (mostly Whig)
		Charles Watson-Wentworth 2nd Marquess of Rockingham (1730–1782)	July 13 1765	July 30 1766	1 year, 18 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Whig	Rockingham I
		William Pitt the Elder 1st Earl of Chatham (1708–1778)	July 30 1766	October 14 1768	2 years, 77 days	1768	Lord Privy Seal	Whig	Chatham
		Augustus FitzRoy 3rd Duke of Grafton (1735–1811)	October 14 1768	January 28 1770	1 year, 107 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords		Grafton
		Frederick North Lord North MP for Banbury (1732–1792)	January 28 1770	March 27 1782	12 years, 59 days	1774	Chancellor of the Exchequer First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Tory	North
						1780
		Charles Watson-Wentworth 2nd Marquess of Rockingham (1730–1782)	March 27 1782	July 1 1782	97 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury	Whig	Rockingham II
		William Petty 2nd Earl of Shelburne (1737–1805)	July 4 1782	March 26 1783	266 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Whig	Shelburne
		William Cavendish-Bentinck 3rd Duke of Portland (1738–1809)	April 2 1783	December 18 1783	261 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Whig	Fox–North
		William Pitt the Younger MP for Appleby, later Cambridge University (1759–1806)	December 19 1783	March 14 1801	17 years, 86 days	1784	Chancellor of the Exchequer First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Tory	Pitt I
						1790
						1796
		Henry Addington MP for Devizes (1757–1844)	March 17 1801	May 10 1804	3 years, 55 days	1801	Chancellor of the Exchequer First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Tory	Addington
						1802
		William Pitt the Younger MP for Cambridge University (1759–1806)	May 10 1804	January 23 1806	1 year, 259 days	—	Chancellor of the Exchequer First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Tory	Pitt II
		William Grenville 1st Baron Grenville (1759–1834)	February 11 1806	March 25 1807	1 year, 43 days	1806	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Whig	All the Talents (Whig–​Tory)
		William Cavendish-Bentinck 3rd Duke of Portland (1738–1809)	March 31 1807	October 4 1809	2 years, 188 days	1807	First Lord of the Treasury	Tory	Portland II
		Spencer Perceval MP for Northampton (1762–1812)	October 4 1809	May 11 1812	2 years, 221 days	—	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Chancellor of the Exchequer Commissioner of the Treasury for Ireland (1810–1812)		Perceval
		Robert Jenkinson 2nd Earl of Liverpool (1770–1828)	June 8 1812	April 9 1827	14 years, 306 days	1812	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords		Liverpool
						1818				George IV r. 1820 – 1830
						1820
						1826
		George Canning MP for Seaford (1770–1827)	April 12 1827	August 8 1827	119 days	—	Chancellor of the Exchequer First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Tory	Canning (Canningite–​Whig)
		Frederick John Robinson 1st Viscount Goderich (1782–1859)	August 31 1827	January 8 1828	131 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Tory	Goderich
		Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington (1769–1852)	January 22 1828	November 16 1830	2 years, 299 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Tory	Wellington–​Peel
						(1830)				William IV r. 1830 – 1837
		Charles Grey 2nd Earl Grey (1764–1845)	November 22 1830	July 9 1834	3 years, 230 days	1831	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Whig	Grey
						1832
		William Lamb 2nd Viscount Melbourne (1779–1848)	July 16 1834	November 14 1834	122 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords		Melbourne I
		Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington (1769–1852)	November 17 1834	December 9 1834	23 days	(—)	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords Sec. of State for Foreign Affairs Sec. of State for the Home Dept Sec. of State for War & Colonies	Tory	Wellington Caretaker
		Robert Peel MP for Tamworth (1788–1850)	December 10 1834	April 8 1835	120 days	(—)	Chancellor of the Exchequer First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative	Peel I
		William Lamb 2nd Viscount Melbourne (1779–1848)	April 18 1835	August 30 1841	6 years, 135 days	1835	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Whig	Melbourne II
						1837				Victoria r. 1837 – 1901
		Robert Peel MP for Tamworth (1788–1850)	August 30 1841	June 29 1846	4 years, 304 days	1841	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative	Peel II
		John Russell MP for City of London (1792–1878)	June 30 1846	February 21 1852	5 years, 237 days	(1847)	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Whig	Russell I
		Edward Smith-Stanley 14th Earl of Derby (1799–1869)	February 23 1852	December 17 1852	299 days	1852	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Conservative	Who? Who?
		George Hamilton-Gordon 4th Earl of Aberdeen (1784–1860)	December 19 1852	January 30 1855	2 years, 43 days	(—)	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Peelite	Aberdeen (Peelite–​Whig–​others)
		Henry John Temple 3rd Viscount Palmerston MP for Tiverton (1784–1865)	February 6 1855	February 19 1858	3 years, 14 days	1857	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Whig	Palmerston I
		Edward Smith-Stanley 14th Earl of Derby (1799–1869)	February 20 1858	June 11 1859	1 year, 112 days	(—)	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Conservative	Derby–​Disraeli II
		Henry John Temple 3rd Viscount Palmerston MP for Tiverton (1784–1865)	June 12 1859	October 18 1865	6 years, 129 days	1859	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Liberal	Palmerston II
						1865
		John Russell 1st Earl Russell (1792–1878)	October 29 1865	June 26 1866	241 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords		Russell II
		Edward Smith-Stanley 14th Earl of Derby (1799–1869)	June 28 1866	February 25 1868	1 year, 243 days	(—)	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Conservative	Derby–​Disraeli III
		Benjamin Disraeli MP for Buckinghamshire (1804–1881) Premierships	February 27 1868	December 1 1868	279 days	(—)	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons
		William Ewart Gladstone MP for Greenwich (1809–1898) Premierships	December 3 1868	February 17 1874	5 years, 77 days	1868	Chancellor of the Exchequer (1873–1874)	Liberal	Gladstone I
		Benjamin Disraeli MP for Buckinghamshire (to 1876) Earl of Beaconsfield (from 1876) (1804–1881) Premierships	February 20 1874	April 21 1880	6 years, 62 days	1874	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons (1874–1876)	Conservative	Disraeli II
		William Ewart Gladstone MP for Midlothian (1809–1898) Premierships	April 23 1880	June 9 1885	5 years, 48 days	1880	Chancellor of the Exchequer (1880–1882)	Liberal	Gladstone II
		Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (1830–1903)	June 23 1885	January 28 1886	220 days	(—)	Leader of the House of Lords Sec. of State for Foreign Affairs	Conservative	Salisbury I
		William Ewart Gladstone MP for Midlothian (1809–1898) Premierships	February 1 1886	July 20 1886	170 days	(1885)	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons Lord Privy Seal	Liberal	Gladstone III
		Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (1830–1903)	July 25 1886	August 11 1892	6 years, 18 days	(1886)	First Lord of the Treasury (1886–1887)	Conservative	Salisbury II
		William Ewart Gladstone MP for Midlothian (1809–1898) Premierships	August 15 1892	March 2 1894	1 year, 200 days	(1892)	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons Lord Privy Seal	Liberal	Gladstone IV
		Archibald Primrose 5th Earl of Rosebery (1847–1929)	March 5 1894	June 22 1895	1 year, 110 days	(—)	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords Lord President of the Council		Rosebery
		Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (1830–1903)	June 25 1895	July 11 1902	7 years, 17 days	1895	Leader of the House of Lords Lord Privy Seal (1900–1902)	Conservative	Salisbury III (Con–​Lib.U)
						1900			Salisbury IV (Con–​Lib.U)
										Edward VII r. 1901 – 1910
		Arthur Balfour MP for Manchester East (1848–1930)	July 12 1902	December 4 1905	3 years, 146 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons Lord Privy Seal (1902–1903)		Balfour (Con–​Lib.U)
		Henry Campbell-Bannerman MP for Stirling Burghs (1836–1908)	December 5 1905	April 3 1908	2 years, 121 days	1906	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Liberal	Campbell-Bannerman
		H. H. Asquith MP for East Fife (1852–1928)	April 8 1908	December 5 1916	8 years, 243 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons Sec. of State for War (1914)		Asquith I
						(Jan.1910)			Asquith II	George V r. 1910 – 1936
						(Dec.1910)			Asquith III
						(—)			Asquith Coalition (Lib–​Con–​others)
		David Lloyd George MP for Caernarvon Boroughs (1863–1945)	December 6 1916	October 19 1922	5 years, 318 days	(—)	First Lord of the Treasury		Lloyd George War
						1918			Lloyd George II (Lib–​Con)
		Bonar Law MP for Glasgow Central (1858–1923)	October 23 1922	May 20 1923	210 days	1922	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative	Law
		Stanley Baldwin MP for Bewdley (1867–1947)	May 22 1923	January 22 1924	246 days	—	Chancellor of the Exchequer (1923) First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative	Baldwin I
		Ramsay MacDonald MP for Aberavon (1866–1937)	January 22 1924	November 4 1924	288 days	(1923)	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons Sec. of State for Foreign Affairs	Labour	MacDonald I
		Stanley Baldwin MP for Bewdley (1867–1947)	November 4 1924	June 4 1929	4 years, 213 days	1924	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative	Baldwin II
		Ramsay MacDonald MP for Seaham (1866–1937)	June 5 1929	June 7 1935	6 years, 3 days	(1929)	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Labour	MacDonald II
						(—)		National Labour	National I (Nat.Lab–​Con–​others)
						1931			National II
​		Stanley Baldwin MP for Bewdley (1867–1947)	June 7 1935	May 28 1937	1 year, 356 days	1935	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative	National III
										Edward VIII r.
										George VI r. 1936 – 1952
		Neville Chamberlain MP for Birmingham Edgbaston (1869–1940)	May 28 1937	May 10 1940	2 years, 349 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons		National IV
									Chamberlain War
		Winston Churchill MP for Epping (1874–1965)	May 10 1940	July 26 1945	5 years, 78 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons (1940–1942)		Churchill War
									Churchill Caretaker (Con–​Nat.Lib)
		Clement Attlee MP for Limehouse (1883–1967)	July 26 1945	October 26 1951	6 years, 93 days	1945	First Lord of the Treasury Minister of Defence (1945–1946)	Labour	Attlee I
						1950			Attlee II
		Winston Churchill MP for Woodford (1874–1965)	October 26 1951	April 5 1955	3 years, 162 days	1951	First Lord of the Treasury Minister of Defence (1951–1952)	Conservative	Churchill III
										Elizabeth II r. 1952 – 2022
		Anthony Eden MP for Warwick and Leamington (1897–1977)	April 6 1955	January 9 1957	1 year, 279 days	1955	First Lord of the Treasury		Eden
		Harold Macmillan MP for Bromley (1894–1986)	January 10 1957	October 18 1963	6 years, 282 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury		Macmillan I
						1959			Macmillan II
		Alec Douglas-Home MP for Kinross and Western Perthshire (1903–1995)	October 18 1963	October 16 1964	365 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury	Conservative	Douglas-Home
		Harold Wilson MP for Huyton (1916–1995)	October 16 1964	June 19 1970	5 years, 247 days	1964	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service (1968–1970)	Labour	Wilson I
						1966			Wilson II
		Edward Heath MP for Bexley (1916–2005)	June 19 1970	March 4 1974	3 years, 259 days	1970	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service	Conservative	Heath
		Harold Wilson MP for Huyton (1916–1995)	March 4 1974	April 5 1976	2 years, 33 days	(Feb.1974)	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service	Labour	Wilson III
						Oct.1974			Wilson IV
		James Callaghan MP for Cardiff South East (1912–2005)	April 5 1976	May 4 1979	3 years, 30 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service		Callaghan
		Margaret Thatcher MP for Finchley (1925–2013) Premiership	May 4 1979	November 28 1990	11 years, 209 days	1979	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service	Conservative	Thatcher I
						1983			Thatcher II
						1987			Thatcher III
		John Major MP for Huntingdon (born 1943) Premiership	November 28 1990	May 2 1997	6 years, 156 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service		Major I
						1992			Major II
		Tony Blair MP for Sedgefield (born 1953) Premiership	May 2 1997	June 27 2007	10 years, 57 days	1997	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service	Labour	Blair I
						2001			Blair II
						2005			Blair III
		Gordon Brown MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (born 1951) Premiership	June 27 2007	May 11 2010	2 years, 319 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service		Brown
		David Cameron MP for Witney (born 1966) Premiership	May 11 2010	July 13 2016	6 years, 64 days	(2010)	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service	Conservative	Cameron–​Clegg (Con–​Lib.Dem)
						2015			Cameron II
		Theresa May MP for Maidenhead (born 1956) Premiership	July 13 2016	July 24 2019	3 years, 12 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service		May I
						(2017)			May II (DUP confidence & supply)
		Boris Johnson MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (born 1964) Premiership	July 24 2019	September 6 2022	3 years, 45 days	(—)	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service Minister for the Union		Johnson I (DUP confidence & supply)
						2019			Johnson II
		Liz Truss MP for South West Norfolk (born 1975) Premiership	September 6 2022	October 25 2022	50 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service Minister for the Union		Truss
										Charles III r. 2022 – present
		Rishi Sunak MP for Richmond (Yorks) (born 1980) Premiership	October 25 2022	July 5 2024	1 year, 255 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service Minister for the Union		Sunak
		Keir Starmer MP for Holborn and St Pancras (born 1962) Premiership	July 5 2024	Current	355 days	2024	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service Minister for the Union	Labour	Starmer

Timeline of Prime Ministers

This timeline shows when each prime minister served and their political party.

Images for kids

• 

  Robert Walpole is considered the first prime minister of Great Britain.

• 

  Winston Churchill was prime minister during much of World War II.

• 

  Margaret Thatcher was the first female prime minister.

• 

  Keir Starmer is the current prime minister.

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Primeros ministros del Reino Unido para niños