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The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the principal minister of the crown of His Majesty's Government, and the head of the British Cabinet.. There is no specific date for when the office of prime minister first appeared, as the role was not created but rather evolved over time through a merger of duties. [1]
The first prime minister was Robert Walpole in the early 18th century (Dickinson 1973). Unlike countries where the leader is elected directly to the highest political office of a separate executive, the prime minister must first establish a political career in the UK Parliament and typically serves many years in the House of Commons before ...
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. [1] 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 ...
The Treasury Commission ceased to meet late in the 18th century but has survived, albeit with very different functions: the First Lord of the Treasury is now the prime minister, the Second Lord is the Chancellor of the Exchequer (and actually in charge of the Treasury), and the Junior Lords are government Whips maintaining party discipline in ...
Therefore, the list below refers to the "Head of Government" and not the "Prime Minister". Even so, the leader of a government was often colloquially referred to as the "prime minister", beginning in the 18th century. Since 1902, prime ministers have always held the office of First Lord of the Treasury. [4]
At the start of her reign, responsible government outside of the United Kingdom itself was unknown, but starting in the 1840s this would change. [citation needed] During her reign Victoria was served by well over 33 prime ministers: 15 from New Zealand, 10 from the United Kingdom, 7 from the Dominion of Canada, and 1 from Australia.
The British order of knighthood most frequently conferred on prime ministers has been the Order of the Garter, of which 30 male prime ministers (beginning with Sir Robert Walpole and later including Sir Winston Churchill and Sir Anthony Eden) have been Knights Companion (KG), and the first female, Margaret Thatcher, a Lady Companion (LG) of the ...
United Kingdom general elections (elections for the House of Commons) have occurred in the United Kingdom since the first in 1802.The members of the 1801–1802 Parliament had been elected to the former Parliament of Great Britain and Parliament of Ireland, before being co-opted to serve in the first Parliament of the United Kingdom, so that Parliament is not included in the table below.