Global political history

Global political history from 3000 BC to the 21st century – political leaders, elections, and more.

Great Officers of State

Lord High Steward

Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 9 1731; d. September 12 1806.

1788 – 1792

Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough

Date of birth/date of death: b. November 13 1871; d. June 30 1934

Titles of nobility: Duke of Marlborough in the Peerage of England (1892 – 1934)

1902

Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Browne Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope

Date of birth/date of death: b. January 7 1883; d. June 12 1963

Titles of nobility: Baron Cunningham of Hyndhope (1945 – 1963); Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope (1946 – 1963).

Military ranks: Promoted to rear-admiral, 1933. Promoted to vice-admiral, 1936. Promoted to admiral, 1939(?). Promoted to Admiral of the Fleet, 1943.

1953




Lord High Chancellor

Great Britain

Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 1 1690; d. March 6 1764.

1737 – 1756

Robert Henley, 1st Earl of Northington

Date of birth/date of death: b. c. 1708; d. January 14 1772.

1761 – 1766

Charles Pratt, 1st Baron Camden

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 21 1714; d. April 18 1794.

1766 – 1770

Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 9 1731; d. September 12 1806.

1778 – 1783

William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield (*Lord Speaker)

Date of birth/date of death: b. c. 1671; d. September 1 1729.

1783

Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 9 1731; d. September 12 1806.

1783 – 1792

Thomas Walker Hobart Inskip, 1st Viscount Caldecote

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 5 1876; d. October 11 1947

Titles of nobility: Viscount Caldecote in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1939 – 1947).

1939 – 1940

Mary Elizabeth “Liz” Truss

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 4 1973.

2016 – 2017

David Roy Lidington

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 30 1956.

2017 – 2018




Lord High Treasurer

Lord High Treasurer of England/Great Britain/United Kingdom

First Lord of the Treasury
Sidney Godolphin, 1st Baron Godolphin

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 15 1645; d. September 15 1712.

1684 – 1685

Sidney Godolphin, 1st Baron Godolphin

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 15 1645; d. September 15 1712.

1690 – 1697

Charles Montagu

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 16 1661; d. May 19 1715.

1697 – 1699

Sidney Godolphin, 1st Baron Godolphin

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 15 1645; d. September 15 1712.

1700 – 1701

General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 26 1650; d. June 16 1722.

1702 – 1710

Lord High Treasurer of England
Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 15 1645; d. September 15 1712.

1702 – 1707

Lord High Treasurer of Great Britain
Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 15 1645; d. September 15 1712.

1707 – 1710

Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 5 1661; d. May 21 1724.

1711 – 1714

First Lord of the Treasury
Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 16 1661; d. May 19 1715.

1714 – 1715

Robert Walpole

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 26 1676; d. March 18 1745.

1715 – 1717

James Stanhope, 1st Viscount Stanhope

Date of birth/date of death: b. 1673; d. February 5 1721.

1717 – 1718

Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 23 1675; d. April 19 1722.

1718 – 1721

Robert Walpole

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 26 1676; d. March 18 1745.

1721 – 1742

Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington

Date of birth/date of death: b. 1673; d. July 2 1743.

1742 – 1743

Henry Pelham

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 25 1694; d. March 6 1754.

1743 – 1754

James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 4 1715; d. April 13 1763.

1757

John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 21 1693; d. November 17 1768.

1762 – 1763

Augustus Henry FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 28 1735; d. March 14 1811.

1766 – 1770

Frederick North, Lord North

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 13 1732; d. August 5 1792.

1770 – 1782


Ireland

Lord High Treasurer of Ireland
Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, 4th Earl of Cork

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 25 1694; d. December 4 1753.

1715 – 1753

William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 8 1720; d. October 2 1764.

1754 – 1764

William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 14 1748; d. July 29 1811.

1764 – 1793




Lord President of the Council

Lord President of the Council
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk

Date of birth/date of death: b. c. 1484; d. August 22 1545

Noble titles: Duke of Suffolk in the Peerage of England (1514 – 1545)

1530 – 1545

Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 13 1662; d. December 2 1748.

Noble titles: Duke of Suffolk in the Peerage of England (1514 – 1545)

1702

Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 2 1647; d. January 1 1730.

1714 – 1716

Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 23 1675; d. April 19 1722.

1717 – 1719

Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull

Date of birth/date of death: b. c. 1665; d. March 5 1726.

1719 – 1720

Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 18 1674; d. June 21 1738.

1720 – 1721

Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington

Date of birth/date of death: b. 1673; d. July 2 1743.

1730 – 1742

William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington

Date of birth/date of death: b. c. 1683; d. December 8 1756.

1742 – 1745

John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 22 1690; d. January 2 1763.

1751 – 1763

John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 30 1710; d. January 5 1771.

1763 – 1765

Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea, 3rd Earl of Nottingham

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 24 1689; d. August 2 1769.

1765 – 1766

Robert Henley, 1st Earl of Northington

Date of birth/date of death: b. c. 1708; d. January 14 1772.

1766 – 1767

Charles Pratt, 1st Baron Camden

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 21 1714; d. April 18 1794.

1782 – 1783

Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 21 1714; d. April 18 1794.

1784 – 1794

William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 30 1748; d. February 8 1833.

1794

William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 14 1738; d. October 30 1809.

1801 – 1805

William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 30 1748; d. February 8 1833.

1806

Lord John Russell

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 18 1792; d. May 28 1878

Titles of nobility: Earl Russell in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1861 – 1878)

1854 – 1855

Richard Plantagenet Campbell Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 10 1823; d. March 26 1889.

1866 – 1867

George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 24 1827; d. July 9 1909

Noble titles: Earl of Ripon (1859 – 1909); Marquess of Ripon (1871 – 1909)

1868 – 1873

Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 7 1847; d. May 21 1929

Noble titles: Earl of Rosebery in the Peerage of Scotland (1868 – 1929); Baron Rosebery in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1868 – 1929); Earl of Midlothian in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1911 – 1929)

1894 – 1895

Spencer Compton Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 23 1833; d. March 24 1908

Noble titles: Duke of Devonshire in the Peerage of England (1891 – 1908)

1895 – 1903

John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 24 1838; d. September 23 1923

Titles of nobility: Viscount Morley of Blackburn (1908 – 1923)

1910 – 1914

Arthur James Balfour

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 25 1848; d. March 19 1930

Titles of nobility: Earl of Balfour in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1922 – 1930)

1919 – 1922

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 25 1848; d. March 19 1930

Titles of nobility: Earl of Balfour in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1922 – 1930)

1925 – 1929

Stanley Baldwin

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 3 1867; d. December 14 1947

Titles of nobility: Earl Baldwin of Bewdley in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1937 – 1947); Viscount Corvedale in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1937 – 1947).

1931 – 1935

James Ramsay MacDonald

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 12 1866; d. November 9 1937

1935 – 1937

Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 2nd Viscount Halifax

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 16 1881; d. December 23 1959

Titles of nobility: Baron Irwin in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1925 – 1959); Viscount Halifax in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1934 – 1959); Earl of Halifax in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1944 – 1959).

1937 – 1938

Arthur Neville Chamberlain

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 18 1869; d. November 9 1940

1940

Robert Arthur James Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 27 1893; d. February 23 1972

Titles of nobility: Baron Cecil in the Peerage of England (1941 – 1972); Marquess of Salisbury in the Peerage of Great Britain (1947 – 1972).

1952 – 1957

Winifred Ann Taylor

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 2 1947.

1997 – 1998

Gareth Wyn Williams, Baron Williams of Mostyn

Date of birth/date of death: b. February 5 1941; d. September 20 2003.

2003

Valerie Ann Amos, Baroness Amos

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 13 1954.

2003 – 2007

David Roy Lidington

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 30 1956.

2016 – 2017

Jacob William Rees-Mogg

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 24 1969.

2019 – 2022

Penelope Mary “Penny” Mordaunt

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 4 1973.

2022 – 2024


Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal

Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
John Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Date of birth/date of death: b. January 9 1662; d. July 15 1711.

1705 – 1711

Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 23 1675; d. April 19 1722.

1715 – 1716

Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull

Date of birth/date of death: b. c. 1665; d. March 5 1726.

1716 – 1719

Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull

Date of birth/date of death: b. c. 1665; d. March 5 1726.

1720 – 1726

Spencer Compton, 1st Baron Wilmington

Date of birth/date of death: b. 1673; d. July 2 1743.

1730

William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 26 1698; d. December 5 1755.

1731 – 1733

Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 3 1678; d. January 17 1766.

1735 – 1740

George Cholmondeley, 3rd Earl of Cholmondeley

Date of birth/date of death: b. January 2 1703; d. June 10 1770.

1743 – 1744

Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 26 1711; d. September 12 1779.

1757 – 1761

John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 30 1710; d. January 5 1771.

1761 – 1763

Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne, 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 21 1693; d. November 17 1768.

1765 – 1766

William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham

Date of birth/date of death: b. November 15 1708; d. May 11 1778.

1766 – 1768

George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 6 1716; d. June 8 1771.

1770 – 1771

Augustus Henry FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 28 1735; d. March 14 1811.

1771 – 1775

Augustus Henry FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 28 1735; d. March 14 1811.

1782 – 1783

John George Lambton, 1st Baron Durham

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 12 1792; d. July 28 1840.

1830 – 1833

George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon

Date of birth/date of death: b. January 12 1800; d. June 27 1870

Noble titles: Earl of Clarendon in the Peerage of Great Britain (1838 – 1870)

1840 – 1841

George John Douglas Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 30 1823; d. April 24 1900

Noble titles: Duke of Argyll in the Peerage of Scotland (1847 – 1900); Duke of Argyll in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1892 – 1900)

1852 – 1855

George John Douglas Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 30 1823; d. April 24 1900

Noble titles: Duke of Argyll in the Peerage of Scotland (1847 – 1900); Duke of Argyll in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1892 – 1900)

1859 – 1866

Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 21 1804; d. April 19 1881

Noble titles: Earl of Beaconsfield (1876 – 1881)

1876 – 1878

George John Douglas Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 30 1823; d. April 24 1900

Noble titles: Duke of Argyll in the Peerage of Scotland (1847 – 1900); Duke of Argyll in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1892 – 1900)

1880 – 1881

Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 7 1847; d. May 21 1929

Noble titles: Earl of Rosebery in the Peerage of Scotland (1868 – 1929); Baron Rosebery in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1868 – 1929); Earl of Midlothian in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1911 – 1929)

1885

William Ewart Gladstone

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 29 1809; d. May 19 1898

1886

William Ewart Gladstone

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 29 1809; d. May 19 1898

1892 – 1894

Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury

Date of birth/date of death: b. February 3 1830; d. August 22 1903

Titles of nobility: Marquess of Salisbury in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1868 – 1903)

1900 – 1902

Arthur James Balfour

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 25 1848; d. March 19 1930

Titles of nobility: Earl of Balfour in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1922 – 1930)

1902 – 1903

George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 24 1827; d. July 9 1909

Noble titles: Earl of Ripon (1859 – 1909); Marquess of Ripon (1871 – 1909)

1905 – 1908

Andrew Bonar Law

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 16 1858; d. October 30 1923

1919 – 1921

Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 18 1864; d. May 15 1937.

1931 – 1932

Stanley Baldwin

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 3 1867; d. December 14 1947

Titles of nobility: Earl Baldwin of Bewdley in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1937 – 1947); Viscount Corvedale in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1937 – 1947).

1932 – 1934

Robert Anthony Eden

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 12 1897; d. January 14 1977

Titles of nobility: Earl of Avon in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1961 – 1977).

1934 – 1935

Charles Stewart Henry Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 13 1878; d. February 10 1949

Noble titles: Marquess of Londonderry (1915 – 1949)

1935

Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 2nd Viscount Halifax

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 16 1881; d. December 23 1959

Titles of nobility: Baron Irwin in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1925 – 1959); Viscount Halifax in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1934 – 1959); Earl of Halifax in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1944 – 1959).

1935 – 1937

Robert Arthur James Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 27 1893; d. February 23 1972

Titles of nobility: Baron Cecil in the Peerage of England (1941 – 1972); Marquess of Salisbury in the Peerage of Great Britain (1947 – 1972).

1942 – 1943

William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 25 1879; d. June 9 1964

Titles of nobility: Baron Beaverbrook in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1917 – 1964).

1943 – 1945

Robert Arthur James Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 27 1893; d. February 23 1972

Titles of nobility: Baron Cecil in the Peerage of England (1941 – 1972); Marquess of Salisbury in the Peerage of Great Britain (1947 – 1972).

1951 – 1952

Edward Richard George “Ted” Heath

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 9 1916; d. July 17 2005.

1960 – 1963

Sir Ian Hedworth John Little Gilmour, 3rd Baronet

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 8 1926; d. September 21 2007.

1979 – 1981

Robert Michael James Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 22 1906; d. February 25 1995

1994 – 1997

Gareth Wyn Williams, Baron Williams of Mostyn

Date of birth/date of death: b. February 5 1941; d. September 20 2003.

2001 – 2003


Lord Keeper of the Great Seal
Robert Henley, 1st Baron Henley

Date of birth/date of death: b. c. 1708; d. January 14 1772.

1757 – 1761


Earl Marshal

Placeholder text

Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk

Date of birth/date of death: b. c. 1484; d. August 22 1545

Noble titles: Duke of Suffolk in the Peerage of England (1514 – 1545)

1524 – 1533

Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 15 1746; d. December 16 1815.

1786 – 1815


Lord High Admiral

Lord High Admiral of England
William III

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 24 1533; d. July 10 1584.

1689

Prince George of Denmark and Norway, Duke of Cumberland

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 2 1653; d. October 28 1708.

1702 – 1707

Lord High Admiral of Great Britain
Prince George of Denmark and Norway, Duke of Cumberland

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 2 1653; d. October 28 1708.

1707 – 1708

Anne

Date of birth/date of death: b. February 6 1665; d. August 1 1714.

Spouse: Prince George of Denmark and Norway, Duke of Cumberland (b. May 19 1744; d. November 17 1818)

1708

Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 21 1926; d. September 8 2022

Spouse: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (b. June 10 1921; d. April 9 2021

Children: (1) Charles III, King of the United Kingdom (b. November 14 1948); (2) Anne, Princess Royal (b. August 15 1950); (3) Prince Andrew, Duke of York (b. February 19 1960); (4) Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh (b. March 10 1964)

1964 – 2011

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 10 1921; d. April 9 2021

Titles of nobility: Duke of Edinburgh in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1947 – 2021).

2011 – 2021

Elizabeth II

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 21 1926; d. September 8 2022

Spouse: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (b. June 10 1921; d. April 9 2021

Children: (1) Charles III, King of the United Kingdom (b. November 14 1948); (2) Anne, Princess Royal (b. August 15 1950); (3) Prince Andrew, Duke of York (b. February 19 1960); (4) Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh (b. March 10 1964)

2021 – 2022

Charles III

Date of birth/date of death: b. November 14 1948.

2022 – present


Vice-Admiral of Great Britain
Admiral of the Fleet George Anson, 1st Baron Anson

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 22 1684; d. July 7 1764.

1749 – 1762

Admiral Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 8 1726; d. August 5 1799.

1792 – 1796

Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom
Admiral of the Fleet Michael Cecil Boyce, Baron Boyce

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 2 1943; d. November 6 2022.

2021 – 2022