The Right Honourable The Earl of Beaconsfield KG PC FRS |
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Disraeli, photographed by Cornelius Jabez Hughes in 1878
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Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | |
In office 20 February 1874 – 21 April 1880 |
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Monarch | Victoria |
Preceded by | William Ewart Gladstone |
Succeeded by | William Ewart Gladstone |
In office 27 February 1868 – 1 December 1868 |
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Monarch | Victoria |
Preceded by | The Earl of Derby |
Succeeded by | William Ewart Gladstone |
Leader of the Opposition | |
In office 21 April 1880 – 19 April 1881 |
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Monarch | Victoria |
Preceded by | The Marquess of Hartington |
Succeeded by | William Ewart Gladstone |
In office 1 December 1868 – 17 February 1874 |
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Monarch | Victoria |
Preceded by | William Ewart Gladstone |
Succeeded by | William Ewart Gladstone |
Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
In office 6 July 1866 – 29 February 1868 |
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Preceded by | William Ewart Gladstone |
Succeeded by | George Ward Hunt |
In office 26 February 1858 – 11 June 1859 |
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Preceded by | Sir George Cornewall Lewis |
Succeeded by | William Ewart Gladstone |
In office 27 February 1852 – 17 December 1852 |
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Preceded by | Charles Wood |
Succeeded by | William Ewart Gladstone |
Personal details | |
Born |
Bloomsbury, Middlesex, England |
21 December 1804
Died | 19 April 1881 London, England |
(aged 76)
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse(s) | Mary Anne Lewis (m. 1839; d. 1872) |
Religion |
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Signature |
Booknotes interview with Stanley Weintraub on Disraeli: A Biography, February 6, 1994, C-SPAN |
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, KG, PC, FRS (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation of the modern Conservative Party, defining its policies and its broad outreach. Disraeli is remembered for his influential voice in world affairs, his political battles with the Liberal Party leader William Ewart Gladstone, and his one-nation conservatism or "Tory democracy". He made the Conservatives the party most identified with the glory and power of the British Empire. He is the only British Prime Minister of Jewish birth.
Disraeli was born in Bloomsbury, then part of Middlesex. His father left Judaism after a dispute at his synagogue; young Benjamin became an Anglican at the age of 12. After several unsuccessful attempts, Disraeli entered the House of Commons in 1837. In 1846 the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel split the party over his proposal to repeal the Corn Laws, which involved ending the tariff on imported grain. Disraeli clashed with Peel in the Commons. Disraeli became a major figure in the party. When Lord Derby, the party leader, thrice formed governments in the 1850s and 1860s, Disraeli served as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons. He also forged a bitter rivalry with Gladstone of the Liberal Party.