The Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom
Explore resources and biographies for Britain’s past and present Prime Ministers.
William Ewart Gladstone
A history in office
On this page you can find biographies for all 58 past and present Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom. Learn about their individual achievements, failures, decisions and key moments during their premiership.
The Prime Ministers are listed by century, beginning in the present day and going back to the office’s origins during the 1700s. Filter by party, duration of premiership, or simply search by name.
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21st Century
Keir Starmer
Labour
Keir Starmer became the 58th Prime Minister on 5 July 2024. He is the MP for Holborn and St Pancras and was first elected in 2015.
Keir Starmer became the 58th Prime Minister on 5 July 2024. He is the MP for Holborn and St Pancras and was first elected in 2015.
Keir Starmer became the 58th Prime Minister on 5 July 2024. He is the MP for Holborn and…
Learn moreJul 2024 – Present
Rishi Sunak
Conservative
Oct 2022 – Jul 2024
Liz Truss
Conservative
Sep 2022 – Nov 2022
Boris Johnson
Conservative
Jul 2019 – Sep 2022
Theresa May
Conservative
Jul 2016 – Jul 2019
David Cameron
Conservative
May 2010 – Jul 2016
Gordon Brown
Labour
Jun 2007 – May 2010
20th Century
Tony Blair
Labour
May 1997 – Jun 2007
John Major
Conservative
Nov 1990 – May 1997
Margaret Thatcher
Conservative
May 1979 – Nov 1990
James Callaghan
Labour
Apr 1976 – May 1979
Edward Heath
Conservative
Jun 1970 – Mar 1974
Harold Wilson
Labour
Oct 1964 – Jun 1970
Mar 1974 – Apr 1976
Sir Alec Douglas-Home
Conservative
Oct 1963 – Oct 1964
Harold Macmillan
Conservative
Jan 1957 – Oct 1963
Sir Anthony Eden
Conservative
Apr 1955 – Jan 1957
Clement Attlee
Labour
Jul 1945 – Oct 1951
Sir Winston Churchill
Conservative
May 1940 – Jul 1945
Oct 1951 – Apr 1955
Neville Chamberlain
Conservative
May 1937 – May 1940
Ramsay MacDonald
Labour
Jan 1924 – Nov 1924
Jun 1929 – Jun 1935
Stanley Baldwin
Conservative
May 1923 – Jan 1924
Nov 1924 – Jun 1929
Jun 1935 – May 1937
Andrew Bonar Law
Conservative
Oct 1922 – May 1923
David Lloyd George
Liberal
Dec 1916 – Oct 1922
Herbert Henry Asquith
Liberal
Apr 1908 – Dec 1916
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Liberal
Dec 1905 – Apr 1908
Arthur James Balfour
Conservative
Jul 1902 – Dec 1905
19th Century
Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery
Liberal
Mar 1894 – Jun 1895
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
Conservative
Jun 1885 – Jan 1886
Jul 1886 – Aug 1892
William Ewart Gladstone
Liberal
Dec 1868 – Feb 1874
Apr 1880 – Jun 1885
Feb 1886 – Jul 1886
Aug 1892 – Mar 1894
Benjamin Disraeli
Conservative
Feb 1868 – Dec 1868
Feb 1874 – Apr 1880
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
Liberal
Feb 1855 – Feb 1858
Jun 1859 – Oct 1865
George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen
Peelite
Dec 1852 – Jan 1855
Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby
Conservative
Feb 1852 – Dec 1852
Feb 1858 – Jun 1859
Jun 1866 – Feb 1868
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell
Liberal
Jun 1846 – Feb 1852
Oct 1865 – Jun 1866
Sir Robert Peel
Conservative
Dec 1834 – Apr 1835
Aug 1841 – Jun 1846
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
Whig
Jul 1834 – Nov 1834
Apr 1835 – Aug 1841
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
Whig
Nov 1830 – Jul 1834
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Tory
Jan 1828 – Nov 1830
Nov 1834 – Dec 1834
F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich
Tory
Aug 1827 – Jan 1828
George Canning
Tory
Apr 1827 – Aug 1827
Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool
Tory
Jun 1812 – Apr 1827
Spencer Perceval
Tory
Oct 1809 – May 1812
William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville
Whig
Feb 1806 – Mar 1807
Henry Addington
Tory
Mar 1801 – May 1804
William Pitt the Younger
Tory / Whig
Dec 1783 – Mar 1801
May 1804 – Jan 1806
18th Century
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland
Tory / Whig
Apr 1783 – Dec 1783
Mar 1807 – Oct 1809
William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne
Tory
Jul 1782 – Mar 1783
Frederick North, Lord North
Tory
Jan 1770 – Mar 1782
Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton
Whig
Oct 1768 – Jan 1770
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham
Whig
Jul 1766 – Oct 1768
Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham
Whig
Jul 1765 – Jul 1766
Mar 1782 – Jul 1782
George Grenville
Whig
Apr 1763 – Jul 1765
John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute
Tory
May 1762 – Apr 1763
William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire
Whig
Nov 1756 – Jun 1757
Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle
Whig
Mar 1754 – Nov 1756
Jun 1757 – May 1762
Henry Pelham
Whig
Aug 1743 – Mar 1754
Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington
Whig
Feb 1742 – Jul 1743
Sir Robert Walpole
Whig
Apr 1721 – Feb 1742
The names of British Prime Ministers are woven into the fabric of our history
And yet, there is no museum dedicated to this great office nor to the collection of people who have served in it. One of humanity’s greatest stories – of history, freedom, democracy, power, and politics – goes completely untold. Our former leaders fade away and the remnants of their careers are simply scattered to the winds. But it does not have to be like this. So many other countries in the world have established museums and exhibitions to celebrate their former leaders.
