Living prime ministers of the United Kingdom

This is a chronological list of all those who served as British prime minister and were still living at different periods in history.

There have been four periods when there was only one living prime minister, starting with the appointment (1721) of Robert Walpole, and more recently during the second term of William Ewart Gladstone upon the death (1881) of Benjamin Disraeli.

There have been eleven periods when six living current or former prime ministers co-existed,[lower-alpha 1] with the longest being a nine-year period beginning with the first appointment (1834) of Robert Peel. The most recent period is ongoing since July 2019, when Boris Johnson was appointed prime minister; his five living predecessors are John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Theresa May. There has been one period (1754) with no living prime minister, a period of ten days that spanned the death of Henry Pelham on 6 March and the appointment of the Duke of Newcastle.[lower-alpha 2]

If one were to include future prime ministers, there was one period when nineteen had co-existed (see § Statistics, below).

Timeline of living prime ministers

Colour key: Whig Tory Conservative Peelite Liberal Labour
Number of prime ministers alive at each date in British history
StartEndStart eventIntervalEnd eventLiving PMs
3 Apr 172116 Feb 1742Appointment of Robert Walpole20 years, 319 daysAppointment of Lord Wilmington1
16 Feb 17422 Jul 1743Appointment of Lord Wilmington1 year, 136 daysDeath of Lord Wilmington2
2 Jul 174327 Aug 1743Death of Lord Wilmington56 daysAppointment of Henry Pelham1
  • Walpole
27 Aug 174318 Mar 1745Appointment of Henry Pelham1 year, 203 daysDeath of Robert Walpole2
18 Mar 17456 Mar 1754Death of Robert Walpole8 years, 353 daysDeath of Henry Pelham1
  • Pelham
6 Mar 175416 Mar 1754Death of Henry Pelham10 daysAppointment of the Duke of Newcastle0None
16 Mar 175416 Nov 1756Appointment of the Duke of Newcastle2 years, 245 daysAppointment of the Duke of Devonshire1
16 Nov 175626 May 1762Appointment of the Duke of Devonshire5 years, 191 daysAppointment of Lord Bute2
26 May 176216 Apr 1763Appointment of Lord Bute325 daysAppointment of George Grenville3
  • Newcastle
  • Devonshire
  • Bute
16 Apr 17632 Oct 1764Appointment of George Grenville1 year, 169 daysDeath of the Duke of Devonshire4
2 Oct 176413 Jul 1765Death of the Duke of Devonshire284 daysAppointment of Lord Rockingham3
  • Newcastle
  • Bute
  • G. Grenville
13 Jul 176530 Jul 1766Appointment of Lord Rockingham1 year, 17 daysAppointment of William Pitt the Elder4
30 Jul 176614 Oct 1768Appointment of William Pitt the Elder2 years, 76 daysAppointment of the Duke of Grafton5
14 Oct 176817 Nov 1768Appointment of the Duke of Grafton34 daysDeath of the Duke of Newcastle6
  • Newcastle
  • Bute
  • G. Grenville
  • Rockingham
  • Pitt the Elder
  • Grafton
17 Nov 176828 Jan 1770Death of the Duke of Newcastle1 year, 72 daysAppointment of Lord North5
  • Bute
  • G. Grenville
  • Rockingham
  • Pitt the Elder
  • Grafton
28 Jan 177013 Nov 1770Appointment of Lord North289 daysDeath of George Grenville6
  • Bute
  • G. Grenville
  • Rockingham
  • Pitt the Elder
  • Grafton
  • North
13 Nov 177011 May 1778Death of George Grenville7 years, 179 daysDeath of William Pitt the Elder5
  • Bute
  • Rockingham
  • Pitt the Elder
  • Grafton
  • North
11 May 17781 Jul 1782Death of William Pitt the Elder4 years, 51 daysDeath of Lord Rockingham4
  • Bute
  • Rockingham
  • Grafton
  • North
1 Jul 17824 Jul 1782Death of Lord Rockingham3 daysAppointment of Lord Shelburne3
  • Bute
  • Grafton
  • North
4 Jul 17822 Apr 1783Appointment of Lord Shelburne272 daysAppointment of the Duke of Portland4
2 Apr 178319 Dec 1783Appointment of the Duke of Portland261 daysAppointment of William Pitt the Younger5
19 Dec 178310 Mar 1792Appointment of William Pitt the Younger8 years, 82 daysDeath of Lord Bute6
10 Mar 17925 Aug 1792Death of Lord Bute148 daysDeath of Lord North5
  • Grafton
  • North
  • Shelburne
  • Portland
  • Pitt the Younger
5 Aug 179217 Mar 1801Death of Lord North8 years, 224 daysAppointment of Henry Addington4
  • Grafton
  • Shelburne
  • Portland
  • Pitt the Younger
17 Mar 18017 May 1805Appointment of Henry Addington4 years, 51 daysDeath of Lord Shelburne5
  • Grafton
  • Shelburne
  • Portland
  • Pitt the Younger
  • Addington
7 May 180523 Jan 1806Death of Lord Shelburne261 daysDeath of William Pitt the Younger4
  • Grafton
  • Portland
  • Pitt the Younger
  • Addington
23 Jan 180611 Feb 1806Death of William Pitt the Younger19 daysAppointment of Lord Grenville3
  • Grafton
  • Portland
  • Addington
11 Feb 18064 Oct 1809Appointment of Lord Grenville3 years, 235 daysAppointment of Spencer Perceval4
4 Oct 180930 Oct 1809Appointment of Spencer Perceval26 daysDeath of the Duke of Portland5
  • Grafton
  • Portland
  • Addington
  • Ld Grenville
  • Perceval
30 Oct 180914 Mar 1811Death of the Duke of Portland1 year, 135 daysDeath of the Duke of Grafton4
  • Grafton
  • Addington
  • Ld Grenville
  • Perceval
14 Mar 181111 May 1812Death of the Duke of Grafton1 year, 58 daysAssassination of Spencer Perceval3
  • Addington
  • Ld Grenville
  • Perceval
11 May 18128 Jun 1812Assassination of Spencer Perceval28 daysAppointment of Lord Liverpool2
  • Addington
  • Ld Grenville
8 Jun 181212 Apr 1827Appointment of Lord Liverpool14 years, 308 daysAppointment of George Canning3
12 Apr 18278 Aug 1827Appointment of George Canning118 daysDeath of George Canning4
  • Addington
  • Ld Grenville
  • Liverpool
  • Canning
8 Aug 182731 Aug 1827Death of George Canning23 daysAppointment of Lord Goderich3
  • Addington
  • Ld Grenville
  • Liverpool
31 Aug 182722 Jan 1828Appointment of Lord Goderich144 daysAppointment of the Duke of Wellington4
22 Jan 18284 Dec 1828Appointment of the Duke of Wellington317 daysDeath of Lord Liverpool5
4 Dec 182822 Nov 1830Death of Lord Liverpool1 year, 353 daysAppointment of Lord Grey4
  • Addington
  • Ld Grenville
  • Goderich
  • Wellington
22 Nov 183012 Jan 1834Appointment of Lord Grey3 years, 51 daysDeath of Lord Grenville5
  • Addington
  • Ld Grenville
  • Goderich
  • Wellington
  • Grey
12 Jan 183416 Jul 1834Death of Lord Grenville185 daysAppointment of Lord Melbourne4
  • Addington
  • Goderich
  • Wellington
  • Grey
16 Jul 183410 Dec 1834Appointment of Lord Melbourne147 daysAppointment of Robert Peel5
10 Dec 183415 Feb 1844Appointment of Robert Peel9 years, 67 daysDeath of Henry Addington6
  • Addington
  • Goderich
  • Wellington
  • Grey
  • Melbourne
  • Peel
15 Feb 184417 Jul 1845Death of Henry Addington1 year, 152 daysDeath of Lord Grey5
  • Goderich
  • Wellington
  • Grey
  • Melbourne
  • Peel
17 Jul 184530 Jun 1846Death of Lord Grey348 daysAppointment of Lord John Russell4
  • Goderich
  • Wellington
  • Melbourne
  • Peel
30 Jun 184624 Nov 1848Appointment of Lord John Russell2 years, 147 daysDeath of Lord Melbourne5
  • Goderich
  • Wellington
  • Melbourne
  • Peel
  • Russell
24 Nov 18482 Jul 1850Death of Lord Melbourne1 year, 220 daysDeath of Robert Peel4
  • Goderich
  • Wellington
  • Peel
  • Russell
2 Jul 185023 Feb 1852Death of Robert Peel1 year, 236 daysAppointment of Lord Derby3
  • Goderich
  • Wellington
  • Russell
23 Feb 185214 Sep 1852Appointment of Lord Derby204 daysDeath of the Duke of Wellington4
  • Goderich
  • Wellington
  • Russell
  • Derby
14 Sep 185219 Dec 1852Death of the Duke of Wellington96 daysAppointment of Lord Aberdeen3
  • Goderich
  • Russell
  • Derby
19 Dec 18526 Feb 1855Appointment of Lord Aberdeen2 years, 49 daysAppointment of Lord Palmerston4
6 Feb 185528 Jan 1859Appointment of Lord Palmerston3 years, 356 daysDeath of Lord Goderich5
28 Jan 185914 Dec 1860Death of Lord Goderich1 year, 321 daysDeath of Lord Aberdeen4
  • Russell
  • Derby
  • Aberdeen
  • Palmerston
14 Dec 186018 Oct 1865Death of Lord Aberdeen4 years, 308 daysDeath of Lord Palmerston3
  • Russell
  • Derby
  • Palmerston
18 Oct 186527 Feb 1868Death of Lord Palmerston2 years, 132 daysAppointment of Benjamin Disraeli2
  • Russell
  • Derby
27 Feb 18683 Dec 1868Appointment of Benjamin Disraeli280 daysAppointment of William Ewart Gladstone3
3 Dec 186823 Oct 1869Appointment of William Ewart Gladstone324 daysDeath of Lord Derby4
23 Oct 186928 May 1878Death of Lord Derby8 years, 217 daysDeath of Lord John Russell3
  • Russell
  • Disraeli
  • Gladstone
28 May 187819 Apr 1881Death of Lord John Russell2 years, 326 daysDeath of Benjamin Disraeli2
  • Disraeli
  • Gladstone
19 Apr 188123 Jun 1885Death of Benjamin Disraeli4 years, 65 daysAppointment of Lord Salisbury1
  • Gladstone
23 Jun 18855 Mar 1894Appointment of Lord Salisbury8 years, 255 daysAppointment of Lord Rosebery2
5 Mar 189419 May 1898Appointment of Lord Rosebery4 years, 75 daysDeath of William Ewart Gladstone3
19 May 189812 Jul 1902Death of William Ewart Gladstone4 years, 54 daysAppointment of Arthur Balfour2
  • Salisbury
  • Rosebery
12 Jul 190222 Aug 1903Appointment of Arthur Balfour1 year, 41 daysDeath of Lord Salisbury3
22 Aug 19035 Dec 1905Death of Lord Salisbury2 years, 105 daysAppointment of Henry Campbell-Bannerman2
  • Rosebery
  • Balfour
5 Dec 19055 Apr 1908Appointment of Henry Campbell-Bannerman2 years, 122 daysAppointment of H. H. Asquith3
5 Apr 190822 Apr 1908Appointment of H. H. Asquith17 daysDeath of Henry Campbell-Bannerman4
  • Rosebery
  • Balfour
  • Campbell-Bannerman
  • Asquith
22 Apr 19086 Dec 1916Death of Henry Campbell-Bannerman8 years, 228 daysAppointment of David Lloyd George3
  • Rosebery
  • Balfour
  • Asquith
6 Dec 191623 Oct 1922Appointment of David Lloyd George5 years, 321 daysAppointment of Bonar Law4
23 Oct 192222 May 1923Appointment of Bonar Law211 daysAppointment of Stanley Baldwin5
  • Rosebery
  • Balfour
  • Asquith
  • Lloyd George
  • Law
22 May 192330 Oct 1923Appointment of Stanley Baldwin161 daysDeath of Bonar Law6
  • Rosebery
  • Balfour
  • Asquith
  • Lloyd George
  • Law
  • Baldwin
30 Oct 192322 Jan 1924Death of Bonar Law84 daysAppointment of Ramsay MacDonald5
  • Rosebery
  • Balfour
  • Asquith
  • Lloyd George
  • Baldwin
22 Jan 192415 Feb 1928Appointment of Ramsay MacDonald4 years, 24 daysDeath of H. H. Asquith6
  • Rosebery
  • Balfour
  • Asquith
  • Lloyd George
  • Baldwin
  • MacDonald
15 Feb 192821 May 1929Death of H. H. Asquith1 year, 95 daysDeath of Lord Rosebery5
  • Rosebery
  • Balfour
  • Lloyd George
  • Baldwin
  • MacDonald
21 May 192919 Mar 1930Death of Lord Rosebery302 daysDeath of Arthur Balfour4
  • Balfour
  • Lloyd George
  • Baldwin
  • MacDonald
19 Mar 193028 May 1937Death of Arthur Balfour7 years, 70 daysAppointment of Neville Chamberlain3
  • Lloyd George
  • Baldwin
  • MacDonald
28 May 19379 Nov 1937Appointment of Neville Chamberlain165 daysDeath of Ramsay MacDonald4
9 Nov 193710 May 1940Death of Ramsay MacDonald2 years, 183 daysAppointment of Winston Churchill3
  • Lloyd George
  • Baldwin
  • Chamberlain
10 May 19409 Nov 1940Appointment of Winston Churchill183 daysDeath of Neville Chamberlain4
9 Nov 194026 Mar 1945Death of Neville Chamberlain4 years, 137 daysDeath of David Lloyd George3
  • Lloyd George
  • Baldwin
  • Churchill
26 Mar 194526 Jul 1945Death of David Lloyd George122 daysAppointment of Clement Attlee2
  • Baldwin
  • Churchill
26 Jul 194514 Dec 1947Appointment of Clement Attlee2 years, 141 daysDeath of Stanley Baldwin3
14 Dec 19476 Apr 1955Death of Stanley Baldwin7 years, 113 daysAppointment of Anthony Eden2
  • Churchill
  • Attlee
6 Apr 195510 Jan 1957Appointment of Anthony Eden1 year, 279 daysAppointment of Harold Macmillan3
10 Jan 195719 Oct 1963Appointment of Harold Macmillan6 years, 282 daysAppointment of Lord Home4
19 Oct 196316 Oct 1964Appointment of Lord Home363 daysAppointment of Harold Wilson5
  • Churchill
  • Attlee
  • Eden
  • Macmillan
  • Home
16 Oct 196424 Jan 1965Appointment of Harold Wilson100 daysDeath of Winston Churchill6
  • Churchill
  • Attlee
  • Eden
  • Macmillan
  • Home
  • Wilson
24 Jan 19658 Oct 1967Death of Winston Churchill2 years, 257 daysDeath of Clement Attlee5
  • Attlee
  • Eden
  • Macmillan
  • Home
  • Wilson
8 Oct 196719 Jun 1970Death of Clement Attlee2 years, 254 daysAppointment of Edward Heath4
  • Eden
  • Macmillan
  • Home
  • Wilson
19 Jun 19705 Apr 1976Appointment of Edward Heath5 years, 291 daysAppointment of James Callaghan5
  • Eden
  • Macmillan
  • Home
  • Wilson
  • Heath
5 Apr 197614 Jan 1977Appointment of James Callaghan284 daysDeath of Anthony Eden6
14 Jan 19774 May 1979Death of Anthony Eden2 years, 110 daysAppointment of Margaret Thatcher5
  • Macmillan
  • Home
  • Wilson
  • Heath
  • Callaghan
4 May 197929 Dec 1986Appointment of Margaret Thatcher7 years, 239 daysDeath of Harold Macmillan6
  • Macmillan
  • Home
  • Wilson
  • Heath
  • Callaghan
  • Thatcher
29 Dec 198628 Nov 1990Death of Harold Macmillan3 years, 334 daysAppointment of John Major5
  • Home
  • Wilson
  • Heath
  • Callaghan
  • Thatcher
28 Nov 199024 May 1995Appointment of John Major4 years, 177 daysDeath of Harold Wilson6
  • Home
  • Wilson
  • Heath
  • Callaghan
  • Thatcher
  • Major
24 May 19959 Oct 1995Death of Harold Wilson138 daysDeath of Lord Home5
  • Home
  • Heath
  • Callaghan
  • Thatcher
  • Major
9 Oct 19952 May 1997Death of Lord Home1 year, 205 daysAppointment of Tony Blair4
  • Heath
  • Callaghan
  • Thatcher
  • Major
2 May 199726 Mar 2005Appointment of Tony Blair7 years, 328 daysDeath of James Callaghan5
  • Heath
  • Callaghan
  • Thatcher
  • Major
  • Blair
26 Mar 200517 Jul 2005Death of James Callaghan113 daysDeath of Edward Heath4
  • Heath
  • Thatcher
  • Major
  • Blair
17 Jul 200527 Jun 2007Death of Edward Heath1 year, 345 daysAppointment of Gordon Brown3
  • Thatcher
  • Major
  • Blair
27 Jun 200711 May 2010Appointment of Gordon Brown2 years, 318 daysAppointment of David Cameron4
11 May 20108 Apr 2013Appointment of David Cameron2 years, 332 daysDeath of Margaret Thatcher5
8 Apr 201313 Jul 2016Death of Margaret Thatcher3 years, 96 daysAppointment of Theresa May4
  • Major
  • Blair
  • Brown
  • Cameron
13 Jul 201624 Jul 2019Appointment of Theresa May3 years, 11 daysAppointment of Boris Johnson5
  • Major
  • Blair
  • Brown
  • Cameron
  • May
24 Jul 2019PresentAppointment of Boris Johnson1 year, 197 daysPresent6

Statistics

Living as of February 2021

Miscellaneous

  • There have been four men who have been the only living Prime Minister: Sir Robert Walpole (as the first, from April 1721 to February 1742), Henry Pelham (from Walpole's death in March 1745 to March 1754), the Duke of Newcastle (from Newcastle's appointment in March 1754 to November 1756) and William Ewart Gladstone (from Benjamin Disraeli's death in April 1881 to June 1885).
  • During eleven periods in the history of Great Britain and the United Kingdom from 1801 to present, there have been six persons alive to have been Prime Minister. Such periods include: from October to November 1768 (when Newcastle, Lord Bute, George Grenville, Lord Rockingham, Lord Chatham and the Duke of Grafton were alive); from January to November 1770 (when Bute, George Grenville, Rockingham, Chatham, Grafton and Lord North were alive); from December 1783 to March 1792 (when Bute, Grafton, North, Lord Shelburne, the Duke of Portland and William Pitt were alive); from December 1834 to February 1844 (when Henry Addington, Lord Goderich, the Duke of Wellington, Lord Grey, Lord Melbourne and Sir Robert Peel were alive); from May to October 1923 (when Lord Rosebery, Arthur Balfour, H. H. Asquith, David Lloyd George, Bonar Law and Stanley Baldwin were alive); from January 1924 to February 1928 (when Rosebery, Balfour, Asquith, Lloyd George, Baldwin and Ramsay MacDonald were alive); from October 1964 to January 1965 (when Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee, Sir Anthony Eden, Harold Macmillan, Sir Alec Douglas-Home and Harold Wilson were alive); from April 1976 to January 1977 (when Eden, Macmillan, Home, Wilson, Edward Heath and James Callaghan were alive); from May 1979 to December 1986 (when Macmillan, Home, Wilson, Heath, Callaghan and Margaret Thatcher were alive); from November 1990 to May 1995 (when Home, Wilson, Heath, Callaghan, Thatcher and John Major were alive). The eleventh and most recent period is ongoing since July 2019 (when Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson are still alive). Of these periods, the earliest two and the most recent three consisted of each Prime Minister appointed consecutively. The longest period where there have been six living prime ministers was 9 years and 67 days, ending with the death of Addington in February 1844.
  • There has been only one period where there has been no living prime minister – in March 1754 following Pelham's death on 6 March to Newcastle's appointment on 16 March.
  • Newcastle was the only person to be both the only living Prime Minister (from March 1754 to November 1756) and one of the six living prime ministers (from October to November 1768).
  • There have been 22 premierships during which a Prime Minister has not died, the most recent being Theresa May's premiership. This does not include the premierships of Lord Wilmington, Rockingham and George Canning (who were themselves the only prime ministers to die during their premierships), nor the premiership of incumbent Boris Johnson (as no Prime Minister has died since Thatcher, who died during David Cameron's premiership). Conversely, only twice (during the premierships of Pitt the Younger and Baldwin) has there been as many as three deaths during a premiership. (This does not count Spencer Perceval's premiership, whose own death was the third during his ministry.) The longest streak of premierships without a prime ministerial death is three, which has happened twice: no Prime Minister died during the premierships of Newcastle, the Duke of Devonshire or Bute; nor would a Prime Minister die during the premierships of Eden, Macmillan or Douglas-Home. If one were to include the multiple terms served by each Prime Minister that had been in office more than once, the record is five: no Prime Minister died during Salisbury's first ministry, Gladstone's third ministry, Salisbury's second ministry, Gladstone's fourth ministry or during the premiership of Rosebery.
  • Because he was the first Prime Minister, and the fact that he served for more than twenty years, Walpole holds the distinction of serving over the longest period during which no prime ministers died. The second longest term without a death of a Prime Minister would be that of Lord Liverpool who served almost fifteen years in office. In recent years, the Prime Minister who served the longest without a death during his term was Macmillan, who served for almost seven years in office.
  • The longest period between deaths of prime ministers was the 17 years and 41 days between the deaths of Baldwin on 14 December 1947 and Churchill on 24 January 1965. The shortest was the 113 days between the deaths of Callaghan on 26 March 2005 and Heath on 17 July 2005.
    • If the longest period between deaths is to be exceeded, no Prime Minister must die before 19 May 2030 (the current oldest and second oldest surviving prime ministers, Major and Brown, would then be 87 and 79 years old respectively).
    • The second longest was the 17 years and 30 days between the deaths of Disraeli on 19 April 1881 and Gladstone on 19 May 1898.
  • Only three times (in 1792, 1995 and 2005) have there been two prime ministers dying in the same year.
  • Following his premiership's end in 1804, Addington lived to see a record 14 premierships prior to his death in February 1844. Goderich follows with 12 premierships after his own premiership ended in 1828, prior to his death in January 1859. In modern times, the Prime Minister to have lived to see the most premierships following their own was Lloyd George, with eight following the end of his premiership in 1922.
  • If one includes future as well as past and current prime ministers, the record sits at nineteen:
  • Since 6 April 1955 (a period of 65 years, 306 days), there have been at least three living prime ministers, and since 23 June 1885 (a period of 135 years, 228 days), there have been at least 2 living prime ministers.

See also

Notes

  1. For comparison, the United States has had five periods in which six current or former presidents co-existed.
  2. Because of the presidential line of succession, the US has had no period where there was no living president.

References

  • Englefield, Dermot; et al. (1995), "Comparative Data", Facts About the British Prime Ministers: A Compilation of Biographical and Historical Information, New York: H.W. Wilson Co., pp. 359–363, 415, ISBN 978-0-8242-0863-9
  • "Past Prime Ministers", number10.gov.uk, archived from the original on 25 August 2008
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