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List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom by length of tenure

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Summary

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This is a list of prime ministers of the United Kingdom by length of tenure. This is based on the difference between dates; if counted by the number of calendar days, the figures would be one day greater for each term served.

The term prime minister appeared in the early eighteenth century as an unofficial title for the leader of the government, usually the head of the Treasury. Jonathan Swift, for example, wrote that in 1713 there had been "those who are now commonly called Prime Minister among us", referring to Sidney Godolphin and Robert Harley, Queen Anne's lord treasurers and chief ministers. Robert Walpole is regarded as the first prime minister; he became First Lord of the Treasury of Great Britain in 1721. This list includes all prime ministers of the Kingdom of Great Britain, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the modern-day United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Notable lengths

Longest term and longest total tenure Most non-consecutive terms Longest-serving prime minister in the 20th century Shortest-serving prime minister

Of the 57 past prime ministers, nine served more than 10 years while eight served less than a year. Robert Walpole is the only person to have served as prime minister (then Great Britain) for more than two decades. Liz Truss is the shortest-serving prime minister, resigning after seven weeks or 49 days. The previous shortest time served was George Canning, who served for less than four months before dying in office. Margaret Thatcher, in office for 11 years and 208 days between 1979 and 1990, is the longest-serving prime minister in modern history, and the longest-serving prime minister officially referred to as such. William Gladstone is the only person to have served four separate terms.

List of office holders by tenure

Rank	Prime Minister	Tenure length	Tenures	Party	Start	End	Reason for exit	Ref.
1	Sir Robert Walpole	{{ayd	}}	1	Whig	1721	1742	Resigned
2	William Pitt the Younger	{{ayd	}}	2	Tory (Pittite)	1783	1801	Resigned
1804	1806	Died
3	The Earl of Liverpool	{{ayd	}}	1	Tory (Pittite)	1812	1827	Resigned due to illness
4	The Marquess of Salisbury	{{ayd	}}	3	Conservative	1885	1886	Resigned
1886	1892	Defeated in election
1895	1902	Resigned due to illness
5	William Ewart Gladstone	{{ayd	}}	4	Liberal	1868	1874	Defeated in election
1880	1885	Defeated in election
1886	1886	Resigned
1892	1894	Resigned
6	Lord North	{{ayd	}}	1	Tory (Northite)	1770	1782	Resigned
7	Margaret Thatcher		1	Conservative	1979	1990	Resigned
8	Henry Pelham	{{ayd	}}	1	Whig	1743	1754	Died
9	Tony Blair		1	Labour	1997	2007	Resigned
10	The Viscount Palmerston	{{ayd	}}	2	WhigLiberal	1855	1858
1859	1865	Died
11	H. H. Asquith	{{ayd	}}	1	Liberal	1908	1916	Resigned
12	Sir Winston Churchill	{{ayd	}}	2	Conservative	1940	1945	Defeated in election
1951	1955	Resigned due to illness
13	Harold Wilson	{{ayd	}}	2	Labour	1964	1970	Defeated in election
1974	1976	Resigned
14	The Duke of Newcastle	{{ayd	}}	2	Whig	1754	1756
1757	1762
15	Stanley Baldwin	{{ayd	}}	3	Conservative	1923	1924	Lack of majority after election
1924	1929	Defeated in election
1935	1937	Resigned
16	Benjamin Disraeli	{{ayd	}}	2	Conservative	1868	1868	Defeated in election
1874	1880	Defeated in election
17	Ramsay MacDonald	{{ayd	}}	2	Labour	1924	1924	Defeated in election
LabourNational Labour	1929	1935	Resigned due to illness
18	Harold Macmillan	{{ayd	}}	1	Conservative	1957	1963	Resigned due to illness
19	The Viscount Melbourne	{{ayd	}}	2	Whig	1834	1834
1835	1841	Defeated in election
20	John Major		1	Conservative	1990	1997	Defeated in election
21	Lord John Russell	{{ayd	}}	2	WhigLiberal	1846	1852	Defeated in election
1865	1866	Resigned
22	Clement Attlee	{{ayd	}}	1	Labour	1945	1951	Defeated in election
23	David Cameron		1	Conservative	2010	2016	Resigned
24	David Lloyd George	{{ayd	}}	1	Liberal	1916	1922	Resigned
25	Sir Robert Peel	{{ayd	}}	2	Conservative	1834	1835	Defeated in election
1841	1846	Resigned
26	The Earl of Derby	{{ayd	}}	3	Conservative	1852	1852
1858	1859
1866	1868	Resigned due to illness
27	Edward Heath	{{ayd	}}	1	Conservative	1970	1974	Defeated in election
28	The Earl Grey	{{ayd	}}	1	Whig	1830	1834	Resigned
29	Arthur Balfour	{{ayd	}}	1	Conservative	1902	1905	Resigned
30	The Duke of Portland	{{ayd	}}	2	WhigTory (Pittite)	1783	1783
1807	1809	Resigned due to illness
31	Henry Addington	{{ayd	}}	1	Tory (Pittite)	1801	1804	Replaced
32	Boris Johnson		1	Conservative	2019	2022	Resigned
33	James Callaghan		1	Labour	1976	1979	Defeated in election
34	Theresa May		1	Conservative	2016	2019	Resigned
35	Neville Chamberlain	{{ayd	}}	1	Conservative	1937	1940	Resigned
36	The Duke of Wellington	{{ayd	}}	2	Tory	1828	1830	Replaced
1834	1834	Caretaker ministry
37	Gordon Brown	{{ayd	}}	1	Labour	2007	2010	Defeated in election
38	Spencer Perceval	{{ayd	}}	1	Tory (Pittite)	1809	1812	Assassinated
39	Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman	{{ayd	}}	1	Liberal	1905	1908	Resigned due to illness
40	George Grenville	{{ayd	}}	1	Whig (Grenvillite)	1763	1765	Replaced
41	The Earl of Chatham	{{ayd	}}	1	Whig (Chathamite)	1766	1768	Resigned due to illness
42	The Earl of Aberdeen	{{ayd	}}	1	Peelite	1852	1855	Resigned
43	Sir Anthony Eden	{{ayd	}}	1	Conservative	1955	1957	Resigned due to illness
44	Rishi Sunak		1	Conservative	2022	2024	Defeated in election
45	Sir Keir Starmer		1	Labour	2024		Incumbent
46	The Earl of Wilmington	{{ayd	}}	1	Whig	1742	1743	Died
47	The Marquess of Rockingham	{{ayd	}}	2	Whig (Rockinghamite)	1765	1766	Resigned
1782	1782	Died
48	The Earl of Rosebery	{{ayd	}}	1	Liberal	1894	1895	Defeated in election
49	The Duke of Grafton	{{ayd	}}	1	Whig (Chathamite)	1768	1770	Resigned
50	The Lord Grenville	{{ayd	}}	1	Whig	1806	1807	Replaced
51	Sir Alec Douglas-Home	{{ayd	}}	1	Conservative (Scot. Unionist)	1963	1964	Defeated in election
52	The Earl of Bute	{{ayd	}}	1	Tory	1762	1763	Resigned
53	The Earl of Shelburne	{{ayd	}}	1	Whig (Chathamite)	1782	1783	Replaced
54	The Duke of Devonshire	{{ayd	}}	1	Whig	1756	1757	Replaced
55	Andrew Bonar Law	{{ayd	}}	1	Conservative (Scot. Unionist)	1922	1923	Resigned due to illness
56	The Viscount Goderich	{{ayd	}}	1	Tory (Canningite)	1827	1828	Replaced
57	George Canning	{{ayd	}}	1	Tory (Canningite)	1827	1827	Died
58	Liz Truss	{{ayd	}}	1	Conservative	2022	2022	Resigned

Disputed

Prime Minister	Length served	Terms in office	Party	Start and end	Reason for exit
The Earl Waldegrave	{{ayd	}}	0	Whig	1757
The Earl of Bath	{{ayd	}}	0	Whig	1746

Notes

References

Dodd, A. H.. (1956). "The Growth of Responsible Government from James the First to Victoria". Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Marriott, J. A. R.. (1925). "English Political Institutions". Oxford University Press, Oxford.
"Past Prime Ministers". Government of the United Kingdom.
(2022-10-25). "Liz Truss doubles down on disastrous 'growth' plan in farewell speech".
(20 October 2022). "British Prime Minister Liz Truss resigns after weeks of criticism and turmoil". NPR.
(20 October 2022). "Here is the latest on the political turmoil in Britain.". The New York Times.
Fortescue, Ali. (20 October 2022). "The divided Tories won't find it easy choosing a new PM". [[Sky News]].
"Baroness Margaret Thatcher: Conservative 1979 to 1990". [[Crown copyright#United Kingdom.
Mackay, Robert. (28 December 1987). "Thatcher longest serving British prime minister". United Press International.
Marriott, John. (1923). "English Political Institutions: An Introductory Study". Clarendon Press.
"British Prime Ministers {{!}} University of Oxford".

Wikipedia Source

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