Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister is the head of government, exercising many of the executive functions nominally vested in the Sovereign, who is head of state. According to custom, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet (which he or she heads) are responsible for their actions to Parliament, of which they are members by (modern) convention. The current Prime Minister is Tony Blair (of the Labour Party), who has been in office since 1997. For the complete list of British Prime Ministers, see List of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom.

List of Prime Ministers

For the complete list of British Prime Ministers, see List of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom.

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Looking back at the eighteenth century, it is often unclear who should be considered the Prime Minister, with holders of the offices of First Lord of the Treasury, Lord Privy Seal, and Secretary of State all at one time or another acting as the principal minister in various governments. For instance, John Carteret, 2nd Baron Carteret Secretary of State for the Northern Department from 1742 to 1744 and William Pitt the Elder as Secretary of State for the Southern Department from 1756 to 1757 and again from 1757 to 1761 had many of the powers of a Prime Ministers, although other men held the principal office of First Lord of the Treasury. This list follows conventional practice in not listing such figures as Prime Ministers.

Related Topics:
First Lord of the Treasury - Lord Privy Seal - Secretary of State - John Carteret, 2nd Baron Carteret - Secretary of State for the Northern Department - 1742 - 1744 - Secretary of State for the Southern Department - 1756 - 1757 - 1761

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There are, however, two exceptions to this generalisation. Firstly, in 1766, William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham (previously William Pitt the Elder) was asked by the King to form a ministry, but chose to take the office of Lord Privy Seal instead of the position of First Lord. Nevertheless, he is generally considered to have served as Prime Minister, for the King had asked him to form a Government. Similarly, Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, was asked to form ministries thrice, though he only served as First Lord for a short part of his second term. Lord Salisbury is also listed as a Prime Minister, though he was not First Lord, again because the Queen had asked him to form the ministry. Such considerations make the earlier part of the list somewhat less authoritative in its determination of who, exactly, was Prime Minister at such times.

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