Henry Campbell-Bannerman was born in Glasgow in 1836. He was educated at the High School of Glasgow, the University of Glasgow, and Cambridge University. After that, he worked in the family firm in Glasgow.

He was elected to Parliament in 1868 as a Liberal Party MP for Stirling Burghs. In Parliament he rose quickly through the ranks of the party. He was appointed Financial Secretary to the War Office in Gladstone’s first and second governments, and then Secretary for War in Gladstone’s third and fourth governments, and then continued in that position under Lord Rosebery. In 1895, he accidentally caused the collapse of Rosebery’s government when a Parliamentary vote was lost on his handling of military equipment, leading to a motion of censure, which caused Rosebery’s resignation.

In 1899, Campbell-Bannerman became leader of the Liberal Party. His advantage was that he was generally well liked, good humoured, trustworthy, and unpretentious. He also had fewer enemies than the other potential candidates. His friends nicknamed him ‘CB’.

That year, the Liberal Party became deeply divided in response to Britain’s war in South Africa (the Boer War). Campbell-Bannerman struggled to keep the party together, and they lost the 1900 election, with the war remaining very popular. In 1901, Campbell-Bannerman strongly condemned the ‘methods of barbarism’ that were used by the British to force the Boers to surrender.

Now it was the turn of the Conservatives to divide, over the topic of tariff reform. In December 1905, Arthur Balfour resigned, and Campbell-Bannerman was invited to form a government.

Campbell-Bannerman immediately went to the country and in January 1906 won in the Liberal Party’s greatest victory, finishing with 397 seats (to the Conservatives’ 156).  His Cabinet was a talented one, and included three future Prime Ministers: H.H. Asquith, David Lloyd George, and Winston Churchill. Campbell-Bannerman was also the first Prime Minister to use the title of ‘Prime Minister’, rather than First Lord of the Treasury, in official documents.

Campbell-Bannerman’s government had several achievements. The Boer states were granted self-government. A Trade Disputes Act strengthened the power of the trade unions and a Workmen’s Compensation Act increased worker’s rights to redress for injury.

By 1906, Campbell-Bannerman’s wife, Charlotte, was very ill, and he dedicated a great deal of his time to caring for her. She died in August. Campbell-Bannerman’s health also began to deteriorate sharply at this time. By April 1908, his illness left him bedridden and he resigned, though he never left Downing Street, dying there 17 days later.