This is a graphical timeline of prime ministers of Great Britain and the United Kingdom from when the first prime minister of Great Britain in the modern sense, Robert Walpole, took office in 1721, until the present day.
From 1801 until 1922, British prime ministers also held the office for the whole of Ireland.
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BarData = bar:Walpole bar:Wilmington bar:Pelham bar:Newcastle bar:Devonshire bar:Bute bar:GrenvilleG bar:Rockingham bar:PittSr bar:Grafton bar:North bar:Shelburne bar:Portland bar:PittJr
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bar:Walpole from: 1721 till: 1742 color:whig text:"Sir Robert Walpole" bar:Wilmington from: 1742 till: 1743 color:whig text:"The Earl of Wilmington" bar:Pelham from: 1743 till: 1754 color:whig text:"Henry Pelham" bar:Newcastle from: 1754 till: 1756 color:whig from: 1757 till: 1762 color:whig text:"The Duke of Newcastle" bar:Devonshire from: 1756 till: 1757 color:whig text:"The Duke of Devonshire" bar:Bute from: 1762 till: 1763 color:tory text:"The Earl of Bute" bar:GrenvilleG from: 1763 till: 1765 color:whig text:"George Grenville" bar:Rockingham from: 1765 till: 1766 color:whig from: 1782 till: 1782 color:whig text:"The Marquess of Rockingham" bar:PittSr from: 1766 till: 1768 color:whig text:"William Pitt the Elder" bar:Grafton from: 1768 till: 1770 color:whig text:"The Duke of Grafton" bar:North from: 1770 till: 1782 color:tory text:"Lord North" bar:Shelburne from: 1782 till: 1783 color:whig text:"The Earl of Shelburne" bar:Portland from: 1783 till: 1783 color:whig text:"The Duke of Portland" bar:PittJr from: 1783 till: 1801 color:tory text:"William Pitt the Younger"
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyyPeriod = from:01/01/1800 till:06/12/1922TimeAxis = orientation:horizontalScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1800
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TextData = pos:(20,55) textcolor:black fontsize:M text:"Political parties:"
BarData = bar:PittJr bar:Addington bar:GrenvilleW bar:Portland bar:Perceval bar:Liverpool bar:Canning bar:Goderich bar:Wellington bar:Grey bar:Melbourne bar:Peel bar:Russell bar:Derby bar:Aberdeen bar:Palmerston bar:Disraeli bar:Gladstone bar:Salisbury bar:Rosebery bar:Balfour bar:CBannerman bar:Asquith bar:LloydGeorge
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bar:PittJr from: 01/01/1800 till: 17/03/1801 color:tory from: 10/05/1804 till: 23/01/1806 color:tory text:"William Pitt the Younger" bar:Addington from: 17/03/1801 till: 10/05/1804 color:tory text:"Henry Addington" bar:GrenvilleW from: 11/02/1806 till: 31/03/1807 color:whig text:"The Lord Grenville" bar:Portland from: 31/03/1807 till: 04/10/1809 color:tory text:"The Duke of Portland" bar:Perceval from: 04/10/1809 till: 11/05/1812 color:tory text:"Spencer Perceval" bar:Liverpool from: 08/06/1812 till: 09/04/1827 color:tory text:"The Earl of Liverpool" bar:Canning from: 10/04/1827 till: 08/08/1827 color:tory text:"George Canning" bar:Goderich from: 31/08/1827 till: 21/01/1828 color:tory text:"The Viscount Goderich" bar:Wellington from: 22/01/1828 till: 16/11/1830 color:tory from: 14/11/1834 till: 10/12/1834 color:tory text:"The Duke of Wellington" bar:Grey from: 22/11/1830 till: 09/07/1834 color:whig text:"The Earl Grey" bar:Melbourne from: 16/07/1834 till: 14/11/1834 color:whig from: 18/04/1835 till: 30/08/1841 color:whig text:"The Viscount Melbourne" bar:Peel from: 10/12/1834 till: 08/04/1835 color:tory from: 30/08/1841 till: 29/06/1846 color:conservative text:"Sir Robert Peel" bar:Russell from: 30/06/1846 till: 21/02/1852 color:whig from: 29/10/1865 till: 26/06/1866 color:liberal text:"The Earl Russell (Lord John Russell)" bar:Derby from: 23/02/1852 till: 17/12/1852 color:conservative from: 20/02/1858 till: 11/06/1859 color:conservative from: 28/06/1866 till: 25/02/1868 color:conservative text:"The Earl of Derby" bar:Aberdeen from: 19/12/1852 till: 30/01/1855 color:conservative text:"The Earl of Aberdeen" bar:Palmerston from: 01/02/1855 till: 01/02/1858 color:whig from: 12/06/1859 till: 18/10/1865 color:liberal text:"The Viscount Palmerston" bar:Disraeli from: 27/02/1868 till: 01/12/1868 color:conservative from: 20/02/1874 till: 21/04/1880 color:conservative text:"Benjamin Disraeli" bar:Gladstone from: 03/12/1868 till: 17/02/1874 color:liberal from: 23/04/1880 till: 09/06/1885 color:liberal from: 01/02/1886 till: 20/07/1886 color:liberal from: 15/08/1892 till: 02/03/1894 color:liberal text:"William Ewart Gladstone" bar:Salisbury from: 23/06/1885 till: 28/01/1886 color:conservative from: 25/07/1886 till: 11/08/1892 color:conservative from: 25/06/1895 till: 11/07/1902 color:conservative text:"The Marquess of Salisbury" bar:Rosebery from: 05/03/1894 till: 22/06/1895 color:liberal text:"The Earl of Rosebery" bar:Balfour from: 12/07/1902 till: 04/12/1905 color:conservative text:"Arthur Balfour" bar:CBannerman from: 05/12/1905 till: 03/04/1908 color:liberal text:"Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman" bar:Asquith from: 05/04/1908 till: 05/12/1916 color:liberal text:"Herbert Henry Asquith" bar:LloydGeorge from: 06/12/1916 till: 19/10/1922 color:liberal text:"David Lloyd George"
This timeline shows most of the early life, the political career and death of each prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1846. The first prime minister was Robert Walpole in the early 18th century .
Unlike countries where the leader is elected directly to the highest political office of a separate executive, the prime minister must first establish a political career in the UK Parliament and typically serves many years in the House of Commons before becoming prime minister, and in some cases for many years afterwards.
Since the Marquess of Salisbury in 1895, all time in parliamentary service before being prime minister has been in the House of Commons, apart from Sir Alec Douglas-Home's period as a member of the Government while in the House of Lords (1951–63; though he was previously the elected member for Lanark, 1931–1945). After becoming prime minister, Douglas-Home returned to the Commons by winning a by-election on the recess death of MP Gilmour Leburn.
Uniquely, Cameron's brief parliamentary activity as Foreign Secretary from November 2023 to July 2024 was served while a member of the House of Lords.