The Postmaster General of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 is a defunct Cabinet

Cabinet of the United Kingdom

The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the collective decision-making body of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, composed of the Prime Minister and some 22 Cabinet Ministers, the most senior of the government ministers....

-level ministerial

Minister of the Crown

Minister of the Crown is the formal constitutional term used in the Commonwealth realms to describe a minister to the reigning sovereign. The term indicates that the minister serves at His/Her Majesty's pleasure, and advises the monarch, or viceroy, on how to exercise the Crown prerogatives...

 position in HM Government. Aside from maintaining the postal system, the Telegraph Act of 1868 established the Postmaster General's right to exclusively maintain electric telegraph

Telegraphy

Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages via some form of signalling technology. Telegraphy requires messages to be converted to a code which is known to both sender and receiver...

s. This would subsequently extend to telecommunications and broadcasting

Broadcasting

Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...

.

The office was abolished in 1969 by the Post Office Act 1969. A new public authority governed by a chairman was established under the name of the "Post Office

Royal Mail

Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...

". The position of "Postmaster General" was replaced with "Minister of Posts and Telecommunications"; subsequently such functions generally fall within the remit of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport is a United Kingdom cabinet position with responsibility for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The role was created in 1992 by John Major as Secretary of State for National Heritage...

, although the present-day Royal Mail Group is overseen by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.

History

In England, the monarch's letters to his subjects are known to have been carried by relays of couriers as long ago as the 15th century. In 1517, Sir Brian Tuke was appointed by King Henry VIII as "Master of the King's Post". In 1609 it was decreed that letters could only be carried and delivered by persons authorised by the Postmaster General.

In 1657 an Act entitled 'Postage of England, Scotland and Ireland Settled' set up a system for the British Isles and enacted the position of Postmaster General. The Act also reasserted the postal monopoly for letter delivery and for post horses. After the Restoration

English Restoration

The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...

 in 1660, a further Act (12 Car II, c.35) confirmed this and the post of Postmaster-General, the previous Cromwellian

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

 Act being void.

1660 saw the establishment of the General Letter Office, which would later become the General Post Office (GPO). A similar position evolved in the Kingdom of Scotland

Kingdom of Scotland

The Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...

 prior to the 1707 Act of Union

Acts of Union 1707

The Acts of Union were two Parliamentary Acts - the Union with Scotland Act passed in 1706 by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland - which put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706,...

.

Masters of the King's Post

Years	Master of the Kings Post
1517–1545	Brian Tuke Brian Tuke Sir Brian Tuke , was the secretary of Henry VIII and Cardinal Wolsey. He became treasurer of the household.-Life:He may have been son of Richard Tuke and Agnes his wife, daughter of John Bland of Nottinghamshire...
1545–1566	John Mason
1566–1590	Thomas Randolph Thomas Randolph (diplomat) Thomas Randolph was an English ambassador serving Elizabeth I of England. Most of his professional life he spent in Scotland at the courts of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her son James VI. While in Scotland, he was embroiled in marriage projects and several upheavals...
1590–1607	John Stanhope John Stanhope, 1st Baron Stanhope John Stanhope, 1st Baron Stanhope of Harrington was an English courtier, politician and peer.-Life:He was the third son of Sir Michael Stanhope, born in Yorkshire, but brought up in Nottinghamshire after his father's attainder for treason in 1552...
1607–1635	Charles Stanhope
1637–1642	Philip Burlamachi Philip Burlamachi Philip Burlamachi was a major financial intermediary of King Charles I of England. His family was of Italian origin, exiled descendants of the Lucchese Francesco Burlamacchi...
1642–1653	Edmund Prideaux Edmund Prideaux Sir Edmund Prideaux was an English lawyer and Member of Parliament, who supported the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War. He was briefly solicitor-general but chose to resign rather than participate in the regicide of Charles I and was afterwards attorney-general a position he held...
1653-1655	John Manley John Manley (MP) John Manley was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1659 and 1690. He was Post Master General during the Commonwealth....

Former Postmasters General of England and the UK

Years	Postmaster-General
1655–1660	John Thurloe John Thurloe John Thurloe was a secretary to the council of state in Protectorate England and spymaster for Oliver Cromwell.-Life:...
1660-1663	Henry Bishop Henry Bishop (postmaster general) Henry Bishop, , also spelt Bishopp and Bisshopp, from Henfield in Sussex, England was a Postmaster General of England and inventor of the first postmark used on mail.-Postmaster General:...
1663-1664	Daniel O'Neill Daniel O'Neill (royalist) Daniel O'Neill was an Irish army officer, politician and courtier.-Early life:O'Neill was the eldest son of Con MacNiall O'Neill, lord of Clandeboye and his wife, Ellis...
1664-1667	Katherine O'Neill, Countess of Chesterfield Katherine Stanhope, Countess of Chesterfield Katherine Stanhope, Countess of Chesterfield was the governess and confidante of Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange.She was born eldest daughter to Thomas Wotton, 2nd Baron Wotton and his wife, Mary, daughter of Sir Arthur Throckmorton of Paulerspury, Northamptonshire.She first married...
1667-1685	Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington KG, PC was an English statesman.- Background and early life :He was the son of Sir John Bennet of Dawley, Middlesex, and of Dorothy Crofts. He was the younger brother of John Bennet, 1st Baron Ossulston; his sister was Elizabeth Bennet who married Robert Kerr,...
1686-1689	Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester KG PC was an English statesman and writer. He was originally a supporter of James II but later supported the Glorious Revolution in 1688.-Early life:...
1689-1691	John Wildman John Wildman Sir John Wildman was an English soldier and politician.-Biography:Wildman was born in the Norfolk town of Wymondham, the son of Jeffrey and Dorothy Wildman. His father was a butcher. John was educated as a sizar at Corpus Christi College University of Cambridge taking an MA in 1644...

Two Postmasters General

From 1691 to 1823 there were two Postmasters General, to divide the patronage between the Whigs and Tories.

Year	|2nd Postmaster-General	2nd Party
1691		Sir Thomas Frankland Sir Thomas Frankland, 2nd Baronet Sir Thomas Frankland, 2nd Baronet , of Thirkelby in Yorkshire, was an English Member of Parliament.He was the eldest son of Sir William Frankland, 1st Baronet, and succeeded to the baronetcy on 2 August 1697...			Sir Robert Cotton Robert Cotton (MP) Sir Robert Cotton was an English politician. He sat as a Member of Parliament from 1679 to 1701 and briefly in 1702.-Life:...	Tory
1708					Sir John Evelyn Sir John Evelyn, 1st Baronet of Wotton -Biography:He was born in Deptford, Kent, the son of John Evelyn the Younger, Barrister of the Middle Temple and Commissioner of the Revenue, and his wife, Martha, daughter of Richard Spencer. He was the grandson of the famous diarist John Evelyn...
1715		James Craggs the Elder James Craggs the Elder James Craggs the Elder was an English politician and the father of James Craggs the Younger.A son of Anthony Craggs of Holbeck, Durham, he was baptized on 10 June 1657...			Charles Cornwallis, 4th Baron Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 4th Baron Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 4th Baron Cornwallis PC was a British politician. He was the son of Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis and Elizabeth Fox . On 29 April 1693 he succeeded his father as Baron Cornwallis. He married Lady Charlotte Butler, daughter of Richard Butler, 1st Earl of Arran, on 6...	Whig British Whig Party The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
1720		Galfridus Walpole			Edward Carteret Edward Carteret Edward Carteret was an English politician and served as Postmaster General from 1721 until his death.-Life:Edward Carteret was the third son of Philip Carteret FRS and younger brother of George Carteret, 1st Baron Carteret. He was educated at Brentwood School and Trinity College, Cambridge...
1725		Edward Harrison Edward Harrison (British administrator) Edward Harrison was a British aristocrat who served as the President of Madras from 11 July 1711 to 8 January 1717.- War with Gingee :...
1733		Thomas Coke, 1st Baron Lovel Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (fifth creation) Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester, KB was a wealthy English land-owner and patron of the arts. He is particularly noted for commissioning the design and construction of Holkham Hall in north Norfolk. Between 1722 and 1728, he was Member of Parliament for Norfolk.He was the son of Edward Coke ...   (Earl of Leicester from 1744)
1739					Sir John Eyles, Bt Sir John Eyles, 2nd Baronet Sir John Eyles, 2nd Baronet of Gidea Hall, Essex was a British financier. Eyles was the eldest surviving son of Sir Francis Eyles, 1st Baronet. He was married to his cousin, Mary Haskin Styles. Together they had two children, a girl and a boy...
1745					Everard Fawkener Everard Fawkener Sir Everard Fawkener was an English merchant and diplomat.Fawkener was born into a family of silk merchants. His father, William was a leading member of the Levant Company. Everard was sent out to Aleppo in 1716 and remained there until 1725...
1759		Robert Hampden, 4th Baron Trevor Robert Hampden, 1st Viscount Hampden Robert Hampden-Trevor, 1st Viscount Hampden was a British diplomat at The Hague and then joint Postmaster General.-Life:...			William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough PC PC was an Irish and English peer and member of the House of Lords, styled Hon. William Ponsonby from 1723 to 1739 and Viscount Duncannon from 1739 to 1758...
1762					John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont PC, FRS was a British politician, political pamphleteer, and genealogist...
1763					Thomas Villiers, 1st Baron Hyde Thomas Villiers, 1st Earl of Clarendon Thomas Villiers, 1st Earl of Clarendon PC was a British politician and diplomat.-Family:Clarendon was the second son of William Villiers, 2nd Earl of Jersey and his wife Judith Herne, daughter of Frederick Herne....
1765		Thomas Robinson, 1st Baron Grantham Thomas Robinson, 1st Baron Grantham Thomas Robinson, 1st Baron Grantham, KB, PC was a British diplomatist and politician. He was a younger son of Sir William Robinson, Bt...			William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough PC PC was an Irish and English peer and member of the House of Lords, styled Hon. William Ponsonby from 1723 to 1739 and Viscount Duncannon from 1739 to 1758...
1766		Wills Hill, 2nd Viscount Hillsborough Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire PC , known as the Viscount Hillsborough from 1742 to 1751 and as the Earl of Hillsborough from 1751 to 1789, was a British politician of the Georgian era...			Francis Dashwood, 15th Baron le Despencer Francis Dashwood, 15th Baron le Despencer Francis Dashwood, 15th Baron le Despencer was an English rake and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer and founder of the Hellfire Club.-Early life:...
1768		John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, PC, FRS was a British statesman who succeeded his grandfather, Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwich, as the Earl of Sandwich in 1729, at the age of ten...
1771		Henry Carteret Henry Carteret, 1st Baron Carteret Henry Frederick Carteret, 1st Baron Carteret PC was a British politician, known as the Honourable Henry Thynne until 1776.-Biography:... (from 1784 Baron Carteret)
1782					The Viscount Barrington
1782					Charles Bennet, 4th Earl of Tankerville Charles Bennet, 4th Earl of Tankerville Charles Bennet, 4th Earl of Tankerville , styled Lord Ossulston from 1753 to 1767, was a British nobleman, a collector of shells and a famous patron of Surrey cricket in the 1770s. He agreed a set of cricket rules that included the first mention of the Leg before wicket rule. His wife, Emma, was...
1783					Thomas Foley, 2nd Baron Foley Thomas Foley, 2nd Baron Foley (1742–1793) Thomas Foley, 2nd Baron Foley was a British peer and politician. He was the eldest son of the first baron, another Thomas Foley...
1784					Charles Bennet, 4th Earl of Tankerville Charles Bennet, 4th Earl of Tankerville Charles Bennet, 4th Earl of Tankerville , styled Lord Ossulston from 1753 to 1767, was a British nobleman, a collector of shells and a famous patron of Surrey cricket in the 1770s. He agreed a set of cricket rules that included the first mention of the Leg before wicket rule. His wife, Emma, was...
1786					Thomas Villiers, 1st Earl of Clarendon Thomas Villiers, 1st Earl of Clarendon Thomas Villiers, 1st Earl of Clarendon PC was a British politician and diplomat.-Family:Clarendon was the second son of William Villiers, 2nd Earl of Jersey and his wife Judith Herne, daughter of Frederick Herne....
1787					Thomas de Grey, 2nd Baron Walsingham Thomas de Grey, 2nd Baron Walsingham Thomas de Grey, 2nd Baron Walsingham PC , was a British peer and politician. He served as Joint Postmaster General between 1787 and 1794 and was for many years Chairman of Committees in the House of Lords.-Background:...
1789		John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland KG, PC , styled Lord Burghersh between 1771 and 1774, was a British Tory politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, who served in most of the cabinets of the period, primarily as Lord Privy Seal.-Background:Westmorland was the son of John Fane, 9th...	Tory
1790		Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl of Chesterfield Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl of Chesterfield Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl of Chesterfield KG, PC, FRS, FSA , known as Philip Stanhope until 1773, was a British politician and diplomat...
1794					George Townshend, 1st Earl of Leicester George Townshend, 2nd Marquess Townshend George Townshend, 2nd Marquess Townshend, PC, FRS , known as The Lord Ferrers of Chartley from 1770 to 1784 and as The Earl of Leicester from 1784 to 1807, was a British peer and politician....
1798		William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland
1799					George Leveson-Gower, Baron Gower George Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland George Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland KG, PC , known as Viscount Trentham from 1758 to 1786, as Earl Gower from 1786 to 1803 and as The Marquess of Stafford from 1803 to 1833, was a British politician, diplomat, landowner and patron of the arts. He is estimated to have been the...
1801					Lord Charles Spencer Lord Charles Spencer Lord Charles Spencer PC was a British politician and courtier.-Background:Spencer was the second son of Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, and the Hon. Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Trevor, 2nd Baron Trevor...
1804		James Graham, 3rd Duke of Montrose James Graham, 3rd Duke of Montrose James Graham, 3rd Duke of Montrose KG, KT, PC , styled Marquess of Graham until 1790, was a Scottish nobleman and statesman.-Background:...
1806	|John Proby, 1st Earl of Carysfort John Proby, 1st Earl of Carysfort John Joshua Proby, 1st Earl of Carysfort, KP, PC, PC , FRS was a British judge, diplomat Whig politician and poet.-Background and education:...			Robert Hobart, 4th Earl of Buckinghamshire Robert Hobart, 4th Earl of Buckinghamshire Robert Hobart, 4th Earl of Buckinghamshire PC , styled Lord Hobart from 1793 to 1804, was a British Tory politician of the late 18th and early 19th century.-Background:...
1807		Thomas Pelham, 2nd Earl of Chichester Thomas Pelham, 2nd Earl of Chichester Thomas Pelham, 2nd Earl of Chichester PC, PC , FRS , styled The Honourable Thomas Pelham from 1768 until 1783, The Right Honourable Thomas Pelham from 1783 to 1801, and then known as Lord Pelham until 1805, was a British Whig politician...	Whig British Whig Party The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...		John Montagu, 5th Earl of Sandwich John Montagu, 5th Earl of Sandwich John Montagu, 5th Earl of Sandwich PC , styled Viscount Hinchingbrooke until in 1792, was a British peer and Tory politician.-Background and education:...	Tory
1814					Richard Trench, 2nd Earl of Clancarty
1816					James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury, KG, PC , styled Viscount Cranborne until 1780 and known as 7th Earl of Salisbury between 1780 and 1789, was a British politician.-Background:...

A single Postmaster

In 1823 the idea of a Whig and a Tory sharing the post was abolished.

Years	Postmaster General
1823	Thomas Pelham, 2nd Earl of Chichester Thomas Pelham, 2nd Earl of Chichester Thomas Pelham, 2nd Earl of Chichester PC, PC , FRS , styled The Honourable Thomas Pelham from 1768 until 1783, The Right Honourable Thomas Pelham from 1783 to 1801, and then known as Lord Pelham until 1805, was a British Whig politician...   continuing in office alone
1826-1827	Lord Frederick Montagu Lord Frederick Montagu Lord Frederick Montagu was a British politician. He served as Postmaster General between 1826 and 1827.-Background:...
1827-1830	William Montagu, 5th Duke of Manchester William Montagu, 5th Duke of Manchester Colonel William Montagu, 5th Duke of Manchester , styled Viscount Mandeville until 1783, was a British peer, soldier, colonial administrator and politician.-Background and education:...
1830-1834	Charles Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond and Lennox
1834	Francis Nathaniel Conyngham, 2nd Marquess Conyngham
1834-1835	William Wellesley-Pole, 1st Baron Maryborough William Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington William Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington GCH, PC, PC , known as The Lord Maryborough between 1821 and 1842, was a British politician and an elder brother of the Duke of Wellington....
1835	Francis Nathaniel Conyngham, 2nd Marquess Conyngham
1835-1841	Thomas William Anson, 1st Earl of Lichfield
1841-1845	William Lowther, Viscount Lowther William Lowther, 2nd Earl of Lonsdale William Lowther, 2nd Earl of Lonsdale PC, FRS , styled Viscount Lowther between 1807 and 1844, was a British Tory politician.-Background:...
1845-1846	Edward Granville Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans Edward Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans Edward Granville Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans GCB , DL, LL.D, PC , styled Lord Elliot from 1823 to 1845, was a British politician and diplomat.-Background and education:...
1846-1852	Ulick John de Burgh, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde
1852	Charles Philip Yorke, 4th Earl of Hardwicke
1853-1855	Charles John Canning, 2nd Viscount Canning
1855-1858	George Douglas Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll
1858-1859	Charles Edward Abbot, 2nd Baron Colchester
1859-1860	James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin Sir James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, KT, GCB, PC , was a British colonial administrator and diplomat...
1860-1866	Edward John Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley
1866-1868	James Graham, 4th Duke of Montrose James Graham, 4th Duke of Montrose James Graham, 4th Duke of Montrose KT, PC , styled Marquess of Graham until 1836, was a British Conservative politician.-Background and education:...
1868-1871	Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington
1871-1873	William Monsell
1873-1874	Lyon Playfair Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair GCB, PC, FRS was a Scottish scientist and Liberal politician.-Background and education:...
1874-1880	Lord John Manners
1880-1884	Henry Fawcett Henry Fawcett Henry Fawcett PC was a blind British academic, statesman and economist.-Background and education:Fawcett was born in Salisbury, and educated at King's College School and the University of Cambridge: entering Peterhouse in 1852, he migrated to Trinity Hall the following year, and became a fellow...
1884-1885	George John Shaw-Lefevre
1885-1886	Lord John Manners
1886	George Grenfell Glyn, 2nd Baron Wolverton
1886-1891	Henry Cecil Raikes Henry Cecil Raikes Henry Cecil Raikes PC was a British Conservative Party politician. He was Chairman of Ways and Means between 1874 and 1880 and served as Postmaster General between 1886 and 1891.-Background and education:...
1891-1892	Sir James Fergusson
1892-1895	Arnold Morley Arnold Morley Arnold Morley PC was a British barrister and Liberal politician.-Background:Morley was a younger son of Samuel Morley and Rebekah Maria, daughter of Samuel Hope of Liverpool...
1895-1900	Henry Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk
1900-1902	Charles Stewart Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 6th Marquess of Londonderry
1902-1903	Austen Chamberlain Austen Chamberlain Sir Joseph Austen Chamberlain, KG was a British statesman, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and half-brother of Neville Chamberlain.- Early life and career :...
1903-1905	Edward George Villiers Stanley, Lord Stanley
1905-1910	Sidney Buxton
1910-1914	Herbert Samuel Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel Herbert Louis Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel GCB OM GBE PC was a British politician and diplomat.-Early years:...
1914-1915	Charles Hobhouse Charles Edward Henry Hobhouse Sir Charles Edward Henry Hobhouse, 4th Baronet PC, TD, JP was a British Liberal politician. He was a member of the Liberal cabinet of H. H...
1915-1916	Herbert Samuel Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel Herbert Louis Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel GCB OM GBE PC was a British politician and diplomat.-Early years:...
1916	Joseph Pease
1916-1921	Albert Illingworth
1921-1922	Frederick Kellaway Frederick Kellaway Frederick George Kellaway PC , often called F. G. Kellaway, was a Liberal Party politician in the United Kingdom, and Member of Parliament for Bedford from December 1910 to 1922....
1922-1923	Neville Chamberlain Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...
1923	Sir William Joynson-Hicks William Joynson-Hicks, 1st Viscount Brentford William Joynson-Hicks, 1st Viscount Brentford PC, PC , DL , known as Sir William Joynson-Hicks, Bt, from 1919 to 1929 and popularly known as Jix, was an English solicitor and Conservative Party politician, best known as a long-serving and controversial Home Secretary from 1924 to 1929, during which...
1923-1924	Sir Laming Worthington-Evans Laming Worthington-Evans Sir Worthington Laming Worthington-Evans, 1st Baronet GBE, PC was a British Conservative politician.-Background and education:Born Laming Evans, he was the son of Worthington Evans and Susanah Laming...
1924	Vernon Hartshorn Vernon Hartshorn Vernon Hartshorn was a Welsh trades unionist and Labour Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament from 1918 until his death....
1924-1929	Sir William Mitchell-Thomson
1929-1931	Hastings Lees-Smith Hastings Lees-Smith Hastings Bertrand Lees-Smith PC was a British Labour politician who was briefly in the cabinet as President of the Board of Education in 1931...
1931	Clement Attlee Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
1931	Sir William Ormsby-Gore William Ormsby-Gore, 4th Baron Harlech William George Arthur Ormsby-Gore, 4th Baron Harlech KG, GCMG, PC , known as William Ormsby-Gore until 1938, was a British Conservative politician and banker.-Background:...
1931-1935	Sir Kingsley Wood Kingsley Wood Sir Howard Kingsley Wood was an English Conservative politician. The son of a Wesleyan Methodist minister, he qualified as a solicitor, and successfully specialised in industrial insurance...
1935-1940	Geoffrey Tryon
1940-1942	William Morrison William Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil William Shepherd Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil, GCMG, MC, KStJ, PC, QC , the 14th Governor-General of Australia, was born in Scotland and educated at George Watson's College and the University of Edinburgh. He joined the British Army in the First World War and served with an artillery regiment...
1942-1945	Harry Crookshank Harry Crookshank, 1st Viscount Crookshank Harry Frederick Comfort Crookshank, 1st Viscount Crookshank CH, PC , was a British Conservative politician. He was Minister of Health between 1951 and 1952 and Leader of the House of Commons between 1951 and 1952....
1945-1947	William Francis Hare, 5th Earl of Listowel
1947-1950	Wilfred Paling Wilfred Paling Wilfred Paling was a British Labour politician. He was born at Marehay, near Ripley, Derbyshire, one of eight children of a coalminer. Paling left Ripley Elementary School at the age of 13, and entered casual employment with local plumbing and building companies...
1950-1951	Ness Edwards Ness Edwards Onesimus Edwards was a Welsh Labour Party politician.A trade unionist, Ness Edwards was imprisoned in 1917 as a conscientious objector to the conscription of the First World War. He was elected Member of Parliament for Caerphilly at a by-election in 1939 following the death of Labour MP and...
1951-1955	Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr Herbrand Edward Dundonald Brassey Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr, GBE, PC, DL, JP , styled Lord Buckhurst until 1915 , was a British politician. He was the first hereditary peer to join the Labour Party and became a government minister at the age of 23...
1955-1957	Charles Hill Charles Hill, Baron Hill of Luton Charles Hill, Baron Hill of Luton PC was a British administrator, doctor and television executive.Charles Hill was born in Islington, London and was educated at St Olave's Grammar School in Southwark, London. He won a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge where he gained a first class degree...
1957-1959	Ernest Marples Ernest Marples Alfred Ernest Marples, Baron Marples PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Postmaster General and Minister of Transport. After his retirement from active politics in 1974 Marples was elevated to the peerage...
1959-1964	Reginald Bevins Reginald Bevins Reginald Bevins was a British politician who served as a Liverpool Member of Parliament for fourteen years...
1964-1966	Tony Benn Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood "Tony" Benn, PC is a British Labour Party politician and a former MP and Cabinet Minister.His successful campaign to renounce his hereditary peerage was instrumental in the creation of the Peerage Act 1963...
1966-1968	Edward Short
1968	Roy Mason Roy Mason Roy Mason, Baron Mason of Barnsley, PC is a British Labour politician and former Cabinet minister.He was born in Royston, and grew up in Carlton, Barnsley in South Yorkshire...
1968-1969	John Stonehouse John Stonehouse John Thomson Stonehouse was a British politician and minister under Harold Wilson. Stonehouse is perhaps best remembered for his unsuccessful attempt at faking his own death in 1974...