The Most Honourable The Marquess of Salisbury KG GCVO PC FRS DL |
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Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | |
In office 25 June 1895 – 11 July 1902 |
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Monarch |
Victoria Edward VII |
Preceded by | The Earl of Rosebery |
Succeeded by | Arthur Balfour |
In office 25 July 1886 – 11 August 1892 |
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Monarch | Victoria |
Preceded by | William Ewart Gladstone |
Succeeded by | William Ewart Gladstone |
In office 23 June 1885 – 28 January 1886 |
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Monarch | Victoria |
Preceded by | William Ewart Gladstone |
Succeeded by | William Ewart Gladstone |
Lord Privy Seal | |
In office 12 November 1900 – 11 July 1902 |
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Preceded by | The Viscount Cross |
Succeeded by | Arthur Balfour |
Leader of the Opposition | |
In office 11 August 1892 – 22 June 1895 |
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Monarch | Victoria |
Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone The Earl of Rosebery |
Preceded by | William Ewart Gladstone |
Succeeded by | The Earl of Rosebery |
In office 28 January 1886 – 20 July 1886 |
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Monarch | Victoria |
Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
Preceded by | William Ewart Gladstone |
Succeeded by | William Ewart Gladstone |
In office May 1881 – 9 June 1885 |
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Monarch | Victoria |
Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
Preceded by | The Earl of Beaconsfield |
Succeeded by | William Ewart Gladstone |
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | |
In office 29 June 1895 – 12 November 1900 |
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Preceded by | The Earl of Kimberley |
Succeeded by | The Marquess of Lansdowne |
In office 14 January 1887 – 11 August 1892 |
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Preceded by | The Earl of Iddesleigh |
Succeeded by | The Earl of Rosebery |
In office 24 June 1885 – 6 February 1886 |
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Preceded by | The Earl Granville |
Succeeded by | The Earl of Rosebery |
In office 2 April 1878 – 28 April 1880 |
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Prime Minister | The Earl of Beaconsfield |
Preceded by | The Earl of Derby |
Succeeded by | The Earl Granville |
Secretary of State for India | |
In office 21 February 1874 – 2 April 1878 |
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Prime Minister | Benjamin Disraeli |
Preceded by | The Duke of Argyll |
Succeeded by | The Viscount Cranbrook |
In office 6 July 1866 – 8 March 1867 |
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Prime Minister | The Earl of Derby |
Preceded by | The Earl de Grey |
Succeeded by | Sir Stafford Northcote, Bt |
Member of Parliament for Stamford | |
In office 22 August 1853 – 1866 |
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Personal details | |
Born |
Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil 3 February 1830 Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK |
Died | 22 August 1903 Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK |
(aged 73)
Nationality | British |
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse(s) | Georgina Alderson (m. 1857; d. 1899) |
Children | |
Parents |
James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury Frances Mary Gascoyne |
Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
Signature |
Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, KG, GCVO, PC, FRS, DL (3 February 1830 – 22 August 1903), styled Lord Robert Cecil before 1865 and Viscount Cranborne from June 1865 until April 1868, was a British Conservative statesman, serving as prime minister three times for a total of over 13 years. He was the last prime minister to head his full administration from the House of Lords.
Lord Robert Cecil was first elected to the House of Commons in 1854 and served as Secretary of State for India in Lord Derby's Conservative government from 1866 until his resignation in 1867 over its introduction of Benjamin Disraeli's Reform Bill that extended the suffrage to working-class men. In 1868 upon the death of his father, Cecil was elevated to the House of Lords. In 1874, when Disraeli formed an administration, Salisbury returned as Secretary of State for India, and, in 1878, was appointed foreign secretary, and played a leading part in the Congress of Berlin, despite his doubts over Disraeli's pro-Ottoman policy.
After the Conservatives lost the 1880 election and Disraeli's death the year after, Salisbury emerged as Conservative leader in the House of Lords, with Sir Stafford Northcote leading the party in the Commons. He became prime minister in June 1885 when the Liberal leader William Ewart Gladstone resigned, and held the office until January 1886. When Gladstone came out in favour of Home Rule for Ireland, Salisbury opposed him and formed an alliance with the breakaway Liberal Unionists, winning the subsequent general election.