Lord President of the Council facts for kids
Quick facts for kids United KingdomLord President of the Council |
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![]() Arms used by the Privy Council Office
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Privy Council of the United Kingdom Privy Council Office |
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Style | The Right Honourable |
Appointer | The Sovereign on advice of the Prime Minister |
Term length | At His Majesty's pleasure |
Formation | 1530 |
First holder | The 1st Duke of Suffolk |
Salary | £159,038 per annum (2022) (including £86,584 MP salary) |
The Lord President of the Council is a very important job in the United Kingdom. This person leads the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, which is a group of advisors to the King or Queen. It's the fourth highest "Great Officer of State" position. The Lord President's main role is to lead meetings of the Privy Council. They present important government decisions for the Sovereign (the King or Queen) to approve.
Contents
What is the Lord President of the Council?
The Privy Council usually meets once a month. They meet wherever the King or Queen is staying at the time. Their main job is to formally approve "Orders in Council". These are special rules or decisions made by the government. Only a few members of the Privy Council need to attend these meetings. They are invited by the government.
Since the Lord President's duties are not too heavy, this job is often given to a government minister. This minister usually has other important roles that are not tied to one specific department. For example, in recent years, the Lord President has often also been the Leader of the House of Commons or the Leader of the House of Lords. The Lord President does not have a role in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which handles legal appeals.
A Look Back: History of the Office
The job of President of the Council is quite new in British government history. The first clear appointment was in 1529, when the Duke of Suffolk took the role. There was an earlier mention of someone called Edmund Dudley as 'president of the council' in 1497. However, it was only in 1529 that Parliament made it an official "Great Officer of State" position. Before 1679, there were times when no one held this job.
In the 1800s, the Lord President was often the government minister in charge of education. They had other duties too. This education role slowly became smaller in the late 1800s and early 1900s. But some parts of it still remain, like overseeing how different universities are run.
During times when different political parties formed a "National" or "coalition government", the Lord President's job was sometimes given to the leader of a smaller party. For example, Stanley Baldwin, Ramsay MacDonald, Clement Attlee, and Nick Clegg held this role. Some people think this job was sometimes used for the Prime Minister's deputy in the past.
The Lord President of the Council played a very important part during the Second World War. The Lord President led the "Lord President's Committee." This committee was like a central hub that dealt with the country's economic problems. This was super important for keeping the British war economy running smoothly. It helped the entire British war effort.
Winston Churchill liked this way of working together during the war. So, after the war, he started a similar system. He had "overlord ministers" who coordinated different areas. For example, Lord Woolton was the Lord President. His job was to bring together the ministries of agriculture and food. A historian named Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield said that Woolton was very successful. This was partly because his ministries were closely related. They were even combined in 1955 to form the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
Sometimes, ministers from other countries in the Commonwealth realm have briefly served as acting Lords President. They do this only to lead a meeting of the Privy Council held in their country. For example, in New Zealand in 1990 and 1995, Geoffrey Palmer and James Bolger were acting Lords President.
In June 2017, Andrea Leadsom was appointed. This was the first time in a while that the person holding the job was not a full member of the Cabinet.
What the Lord President Does
The Lord President has several important jobs.
Day-to-Day Tasks
The main tasks of the Lord President are:
- Leading meetings of the Privy Council, including any emergency meetings.
- Handling letters from ministers and answering questions in Parliament about Privy Council matters.
- Reviewing and approving "prerogative" and "statutory Orders in Council."
- Prerogative orders deal with how the British state works. They are used for things like stopping Parliament meetings, giving or changing royal charters, appointing high sheriffs, or governing British Overseas Territories.
- Statutory orders are rules made by the government based on laws passed by Parliament. Unlike prerogative orders, Parliament can check and approve statutory orders. Most Orders in Council are statutory.
- Reviewing and approving "Orders of Council." These orders are about things like appointments to professional groups and universities. Unlike Orders in Council, which the King or Queen approves, Orders of Council are approved by the Privy Council itself.
- As a member of a special committee, the Lord President reviews laws passed by Jersey and Guernsey. They then make suggestions to the King or Queen about approving these laws.
University Oversight
The Lord President also acts as a "visitor" for several English universities. This means they have a special role in overseeing these universities. They can help settle disputes or make sure rules are followed.
Here are some of the universities:
- University of Birmingham
- University of Bristol
- University of Hull
- Imperial College London
- Keele University
- University of Leeds
- University of Leicester
- University of Liverpool
- University of London (but not King's College London or University College London)
- University of Nottingham
- University of Reading
- University of Sheffield
- University of Southampton
- University of Sussex
- University of Wales
Past Lords President of the Council
This section lists some of the people who have held the important job of Lord President of the Council throughout history.
Lords President of the Council (c. 1530–1702)
Lords President of the Council (1702–present)
Lord President | Term of office | Other ministerial portfolios held during tenure | Party | Ministry | Monarch | |||
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Thomas Herbert 8th Earl of Pembroke |
13 July 1702 |
25 November 1708 |
— | Godolphin–Marlborough (Tory–Whig) |
Anne![]() |
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John Somers 1st Baron Somers |
25 November 1708 |
21 September 1710 |
Whig | ||||
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Laurence Hyde 1st Earl of Rochester |
21 September 1710 |
13 June 1711 |
Tory | Oxford–Bolingbroke | |||
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John Sheffield 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby |
13 June 1711 |
23 September 1714 |
— | ||||
George I![]() |
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Daniel Finch 2nd Earl of Nottingham |
23 September 1714 |
6 July 1716 |
Tory | Townshend | |||
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William Cavendish 2nd Duke of Devonshire |
6 July 1716 |
16 March 1718 |
Whig | ||||
Stanhope–Sunderland I | ||||||||
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Charles Spencer 3rd Earl of Sunderland |
16 March 1718 |
6 February 1719 |
Whig | Stanhope–Sunderland II | |||
Evelyn Pierrepont 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull |
6 February 1719 |
11 June 1720 |
Whig | |||||
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Charles Townshend 2nd Viscount Townshend |
11 June 1720 |
25 June 1721 |
Whig | ||||
Walpole–Townshend | ||||||||
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Henry Boyle 1st Baron Carleton |
25 June 1721 |
27 March 1725 |
Whig | ||||
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William Cavendish 2nd Duke of Devonshire |
27 March 1725 |
4 June 1729 |
Whig | ||||
George II![]() |
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Thomas Trevor 1st Baron Trevor |
8 May 1730 |
19 June 1730 |
Tory | ||||
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Spencer Compton 1st Earl of Wilmington |
31 December 1730 |
13 February 1742 |
Whig | Walpole | |||
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William Stanhope 1st Earl of Harrington |
13 February 1742 |
3 January 1745 |
Whig | Carteret | |||
Broad Bottom (I & II) |
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Lionel Sackville 1st Duke of Dorset |
3 January 1745 |
17 June 1751 |
Whig | |||||
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John Carteret 2nd Earl Granville |
17 June 1751 |
2 January 1763 |
Whig | ||||
Newcastle I | ||||||||
Pitt–Devonshire | ||||||||
1757 Caretaker | ||||||||
Pitt–Newcastle | ||||||||
George III![]() |
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Bute | ||||||||
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John Russell 4th Duke of Bedford |
9 September 1763 |
12 July 1765 |
Whig | Grenville (Whig–Tory) |
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Daniel Finch 8th Earl of Winchilsea |
12 July 1765 |
30 July 1766 |
Whig | Rockingham I | |||
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Robert Henley 1st Earl of Northington |
30 July 1766 |
22 December 1767 |
Whig | Chatham (Whig–Tory) |
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Granville Leveson-Gower 2nd Earl Gower |
22 December 1767 |
24 November 1779 |
Tory | ||||
Grafton (Whig–Tory) |
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North | ||||||||
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Henry Bathurst 2nd Earl Bathurst |
24 November 1779 |
27 March 1782 |
Tory | ||||
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Charles Pratt 1st Baron Camden |
27 March 1782 |
2 April 1783 |
Whig | Rockingham II | |||
Shelburne (Whig–Tory) |
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David Murray 7th Viscount Stormont |
2 April 1783 |
19 December 1783 |
Tory | Fox–North (Whig–Tory) |
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Granville Leveson-Gower 2nd Earl Gower |
19 December 1783 |
1 December 1784 |
Tory | Pitt I | |||
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Charles Pratt 1st Earl Camden |
1 December 1784 |
18 April 1794 |
Tory | ||||
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William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam 4th Earl Fitzwilliam |
1 July 1794 |
17 December 1794 |
Whig | ||||
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David Murray 2nd Earl of Mansfield |
17 December 1794 |
1 September 1796 |
Tory | ||||
John Pitt 2nd Earl of Chatham |
21 September 1796 |
30 July 1801 |
— | |||||
Addington | ||||||||
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William Cavendish-Bentinck 3rd Duke of Portland |
30 July 1801 |
14 January 1805 |
Tory | ||||
Pitt II | ||||||||
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Henry Addington 1st Viscount Sidmouth |
14 January 1805 |
10 July 1805 |
Tory | ||||
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John Pratt 2nd Earl Camden |
10 July 1805 |
19 February 1806 |
Tory | ||||
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William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam 4th Earl Fitzwilliam |
19 February 1806 |
8 October 1806 |
Whig | All the Talents (Whig–Tory) |
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Henry Addington 1st Viscount Sidmouth |
8 October 1806 |
26 March 1807 |
Tory | ||||
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John Pratt 2nd Earl Camden |
26 March 1807 |
8 April 1812 |
Tory | Portland II | |||
Perceval | ||||||||
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Henry Addington 1st Viscount Sidmouth |
8 April 1812 |
11 June 1812 |
Tory | ||||
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Dudley Ryder 1st Earl of Harrowby |
11 June 1812 |
17 August 1827 |
Tory | Liverpool | |||
George IV![]() |
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Canning (Canningite–Whig) |
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William Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck 4th Duke of Portland DCL |
17 August 1827 |
28 January 1828 |
Tory | Goderich (Canningite–Whig) |
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Henry Bathurst 3rd Earl Bathurst |
28 January 1828 |
22 November 1830 |
Tory | Wellington–Peel | |||
William IV![]() |
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Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne |
22 November 1830 |
15 November 1834 |
Whig | Grey | |||
Melbourne I | ||||||||
James St Clair-Erskine 2nd Earl of Rosslyn |
15 December 1834 |
18 April 1835 |
Conservative | Peel I | ||||
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Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne |
18 April 1835 |
3 September 1841 |
Whig | Melbourne II | |||
Victoria![]() |
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James Stuart-Wortley 1st Baron Wharncliffe |
3 September 1841 |
19 December 1845 |
Conservative | Peel II | |||
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Walter Montagu Douglas Scott 5th Duke of Buccleuch |
21 January 1846 |
6 July 1846 |
Conservative | ||||
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Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne |
6 July 1846 |
27 February 1852 |
Whig | Russell I | |||
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William Lowther 2nd Earl of Lonsdale |
27 February 1852 |
28 December 1852 |
Conservative | Who? Who? | |||
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Granville Leveson-Gower 2nd Earl Granville |
28 December 1852 |
12 June 1854 |
Whig | Aberdeen (Peelite–Whig) |
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Lord John Russell MP for City of London |
12 June 1854 |
8 February 1855 |
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Whig | |||
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Granville Leveson-Gower 2nd Earl Granville |
8 February 1855 |
26 February 1858 |
Whig | Palmerston I | |||
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James Gascoyne-Cecil 2nd Marquess of Salisbury |
26 February 1858 |
18 June 1859 |
Conservative | Derby–Disraeli II | |||
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Granville Leveson-Gower 2nd Earl Granville |
18 June 1859 |
6 July 1866 |
Liberal | Palmerston II | |||
Russell II | ||||||||
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Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos |
6 July 1866 |
8 March 1867 |
Conservative | Derby–Disraeli III | |||
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John Spencer-Churchill 7th Duke of Marlborough |
8 March 1867 |
9 December 1868 |
Conservative | ||||
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George Robinson 1st Marquess of Ripon |
9 December 1868 |
9 August 1873 |
Liberal | Gladstone I | |||
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Henry Bruce 1st Baron Aberdare |
9 August 1873 |
21 February 1874 |
Liberal | ||||
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Charles Gordon-Lennox 6th Duke of Richmond |
21 February 1874 |
28 April 1880 |
Conservative | Disraeli II | |||
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John Spencer 5th Earl Spencer |
28 April 1880 |
19 March 1883 |
Liberal | Gladstone II | |||
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Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue 1st Baron Carlingford |
19 March 1883 |
24 June 1885 |
Liberal | ||||
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Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy 1st Viscount Cranbrook |
24 June 1885 |
6 February 1886 |
Conservative | Salisbury I | |||
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John Spencer 5th Earl Spencer |
6 February 1886 |
3 August 1886 |
Liberal | Gladstone III | |||
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Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy 1st Viscount Cranbrook |
3 August 1886 |
18 August 1892 |
Conservative | Salisbury II | |||
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John Wodehouse 1st Earl of Kimberley |
18 August 1892 |
10 March 1894 |
Liberal | Gladstone IV | |||
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Archibald Primrose 5th Earl of Rosebery |
10 March 1894 |
29 June 1895 |
Liberal | Rosebery | |||
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Spencer Cavendish 8th Duke of Devonshire |
29 June 1895 |
19 October 1903 |
Liberal Unionist | Salisbury (III & IV) (Con.–Lib.U.) |
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Edward VII![]() |
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Balfour (Con.–Lib.U.) |
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Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart 6th Marquess of Londonderry |
19 October 1903 |
11 December 1905 |
Conservative | ||||
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Robert Crewe-Milnes 1st Earl of Crewe |
11 December 1905 |
16 April 1908 |
Liberal | Campbell-Bannerman | |||
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Edward Marjoribanks 2nd Baron Tweedmouth |
16 April 1908 |
19 October 1908 |
Liberal | Asquith (I–III) |
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Henry Fowler 1st Viscount Wolverhampton |
19 October 1908 |
21 June 1910 |
Liberal | ||||
George V![]() |
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William Lygon 7th Earl Beauchamp |
21 June 1910 |
7 November 1910 |
Liberal | ||||
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John Morley 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn |
7 November 1910 |
5 August 1914 |
Liberal | ||||
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William Lygon 7th Earl Beauchamp |
5 August 1914 |
25 May 1915 |
Liberal | ||||
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Robert Crewe-Milnes 1st Marquess of Crewe |
25 May 1915 |
10 December 1916 |
Liberal | Asquith Coalition (Lib.–Con.–Lab.) |
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George Curzon 1st Earl Curzon of Kedleston |
10 December 1916 |
23 October 1919 |
Conservative | Lloyd George (I & II) (Lib.–Con.–Lab.) |
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Arthur Balfour 1st Earl of Balfour |
23 October 1919 |
19 October 1922 |
Conservative | ||||
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James Gascoyne-Cecil 4th Marquess of Salisbury |
24 October 1922 |
22 January 1924 |
Conservative | Law | |||
Baldwin I | ||||||||
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Charles Cripps 1st Baron Parmoor |
22 January 1924 |
3 November 1924 |
Labour | MacDonald I | |||
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George Curzon 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston |
6 November 1924 |
27 April 1925 |
Conservative | Baldwin II | |||
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Arthur Balfour 1st Earl of Balfour |
27 April 1925 |
4 June 1929 |
Conservative | ||||
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Charles Cripps 1st Baron Parmoor |
7 June 1929 |
24 August 1931 |
Labour | MacDonald II | |||
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Stanley Baldwin MP for Bewdley |
25 August 1931 |
7 June 1935 |
Conservative | National I (N.Lab.–Con.–Lib.N. –Lib. |
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National II (N.Lab.–Con.–Lib.N. –Lib. until 1932) |
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Ramsay MacDonald MP for Combined Scottish Universities |
7 June 1935 |
28 May 1937 |
National Labour | National III (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.) |
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Edward VIII![]() |
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George VI![]() |
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Edward Wood 3rd Viscount Halifax |
28 May 1937 |
9 March 1938 |
Conservative | National IV (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.) |
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Douglas Hogg 1st Viscount Hailsham |
9 March 1938 |
31 October 1938 |
Conservative | |||||
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Walter Runciman 1st Viscount Runciman of Doxford |
31 October 1938 |
3 September 1939 |
National Liberal | ||||
James Stanhope 7th Earl Stanhope |
3 September 1939 |
11 May 1940 |
Conservative | Chamberlain War (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.) |
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Neville Chamberlain MP for Birmingham Edgbaston |
11 May 1940 |
3 October 1940 |
Conservative | Churchill War (All parties) |
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John Anderson MP for Combined Scottish Universities |
3 October 1940 |
24 September 1943 |
National | ||||
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Clement Attlee MP for Limehouse |
24 September 1943 |
23 May 1945 |
Labour | ||||
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Frederick Marquis 1st Baron Woolton |
25 May 1945 |
26 July 1945 |
National | Churchill Caretaker (Con.–Lib.N.) |
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Herbert Morrison MP for Lewisham South |
27 July 1945 |
9 March 1951 |
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Labour | Attlee (I & II) |
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Christopher Addison 1st Viscount Addison |
9 March 1951 |
26 October 1951 |
Labour | ||||
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Frederick Marquis 1st Baron Woolton |
28 October 1951 |
25 November 1952 |
Conservative | Churchill III | |||
Elizabeth II![]() |
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Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 5th Marquess of Salisbury |
25 November 1952 |
29 March 1957 |
Conservative | ||||
Eden | ||||||||
Macmillan (I & II) |
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Alec Douglas-Home 14th Earl of Home |
29 March 1957 |
17 September 1957 |
Conservative | ||||
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Quintin Hogg 2nd Viscount Hailsham |
17 September 1957 |
14 October 1959 |
Conservative | ||||
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Alec Douglas-Home 14th Earl of Home |
14 October 1959 |
27 July 1960 |
Conservative | ||||
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Quintin Hogg MP for St Marylebone |
27 July 1960 |
16 October 1964 |
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Conservative | |||
Douglas-Home | ||||||||
Herbert Bowden MP for Leicester South West |
16 October 1964 |
11 August 1966 |
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Labour | Wilson (I & II) |
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Richard Crossman MP for Coventry East |
11 August 1966 |
18 October 1968 |
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Labour | |||
Fred Peart MP for Workington |
18 October 1968 |
19 June 1970 |
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Labour | ||||
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William Whitelaw MP for Penrith and The Border |
20 June 1970 |
7 April 1972 |
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Conservative | Heath | ||
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Robert Carr MP for Mitcham |
7 April 1972 |
5 November 1972 |
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Conservative | |||
Jim Prior MP for Lowestoft |
5 November 1972 |
4 March 1974 |
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Conservative | ||||
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Edward Short MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central |
5 March 1974 |
8 April 1976 |
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Labour | Wilson (III & IV) |
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Michael Foot MP for Ebbw Vale |
8 April 1976 |
4 May 1979 |
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Labour | Callaghan | ||
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Christopher Soames Baron Soames |
5 May 1979 |
14 September 1981 |
Conservative | Thatcher I | |||
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Francis Pym MP for Cambridgeshire |
14 September 1981 |
7 April 1982 |
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Conservative | |||
John Biffen MP for Oswestry |
7 April 1982 |
11 June 1983 |
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Conservative | ||||
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William Whitelaw 1st Viscount Whitelaw |
11 June 1983 |
10 January 1988 |
Conservative | Thatcher II | |||
Thatcher III | ||||||||
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John Wakeham MP for South Colchester and Maldon |
10 January 1988 |
24 July 1989 |
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Conservative | |||
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Geoffrey Howe MP for East Surrey |
24 July 1989 |
1 November 1990 |
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Conservative | |||
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John MacGregor MP for South Norfolk |
2 November 1990 |
10 April 1992 |
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Conservative | |||
Major I | ||||||||
Tony Newton MP for Braintree |
10 April 1992 |
2 May 1997 |
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Conservative | Major II | |||
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Ann Taylor MP for Dewsbury |
2 May 1997 |
27 July 1998 |
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Labour | Blair I | ||
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Margaret Beckett MP for Derby South |
27 July 1998 |
8 June 2001 |
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Labour | |||
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Robin Cook MP for Livingston |
8 June 2001 |
18 March 2003 |
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Labour | Blair II | ||
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John Reid MP for Hamilton North and Bellshill |
4 April 2003 |
13 June 2003 |
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Labour | |||
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Gareth Williams Baron Williams of Mostyn |
13 June 2003 |
20 September 2003 |
Labour | ||||
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Valerie Amos Baroness Amos (born 1954) |
6 October 2003 |
27 June 2007 |
Labour | ||||
Blair III | ||||||||
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Catherine Ashton Baroness Ashton of Upholland (born 1956) |
28 June 2007 |
3 October 2008 |
Labour | Brown | |||
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Janet Royall Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (born 1955) |
3 October 2008 |
5 June 2009 |
Labour | ||||
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Peter Mandelson Baron Mandelson (born 1953) |
5 June 2009 |
11 May 2010 |
Labour | ||||
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Nick Clegg MP for Sheffield Hallam |
11 May 2010 |
8 May 2015 |
Liberal Democrat | Cameron–Clegg (Con.–Lib.Dem.) |
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Chris Grayling MP for Epsom and Ewell |
9 May 2015 |
14 July 2016 |
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Conservative | Cameron II | ||
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David Lidington MP for Aylesbury |
14 July 2016 |
11 June 2017 |
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Conservative | May I | ||
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Andrea Leadsom MP for South Northamptonshire |
11 June 2017 |
22 May 2019 |
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Conservative | May II | ||
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Mel Stride MP for Central Devon |
23 May 2019 |
24 July 2019 |
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Conservative | |||
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Jacob Rees-Mogg MP for North East Somerset |
24 July 2019 |
8 February 2022 |
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Conservative | Johnson I | ||
Johnson II | ||||||||
Mark Spencer MP for Sherwood |
8 February 2022 |
6 September 2022 |
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Conservative | ||||
| Penny Mordaunt MP for Portsmouth North |
6 September 2022 |
5 July 2024 |
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Conservative | Truss | ||
Charles III![]() |
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Sunak | ||||||||
| Lucy Powell MP for Manchester Central |
5 July 2024 |
Incumbent |
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Labour | Starmer |
Timeline

See also
- Privy Council Office
- Vice-President of the Executive Council
- President of the King's Privy Council for Canada
- Sinecure