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Gerald William Balfour, 2nd Earl of Balfour PC
Privy Council of the United Kingdom

Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British monarchy. Its members are largely senior politicians, who were or are members of either the House of Commons of the United Kingdom or House of Lords....
 (9 April 1853 – 14 January 1945), known as Gerald Balfour until 1930, was a British nobleman and Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservative Party, is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom....
 politician. Balfour was the fourth son of James Maitland Balfour
James Maitland Balfour

James Maitland Balfour , of Whittinghame, Berwickshire, was a Scotland Member of Parliament. He was the father of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Arthur Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour....
, Whittingehame
Whittingehame

Whittingehame is a parish with a small village in East Lothian, Scotland, about halfway between Haddington, East Lothian and Dunbar, and near East Linton....
, Haddingtonshire and Lady Blanche Cecil, daughter of James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury
James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury

James Brownlow William Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury was an England Conservative Party politician. He was known by the courtesy title Viscount Cranborne before 1823....
. Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom and the head of government Her Majesty's Government....
 Arthur Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, was his elder brother. He was educated at Eton
Eton College

Eton College, also known as Eton, is a world-famous British independent school for boys, founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England. It was founded as the King's College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor....
 and at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College is one of the 31 Colleges of the University of Cambridge of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or University of Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduate students, and over 160 Fellows; however, counting only the student body it has somewhat fewer than Homert...
, where he gained 1st Class Honours in the Classical Tripos
TRIPOS

TRIPOS is a computer operating system. Development started in 1976 at the Computer Laboratory of University of Cambridge and it was headed by Dr....
.

our sat as Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservative Party, is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom....
 Member of Parliament for Leeds Central
Leeds Central (UK Parliament constituency)

Leeds Central is a borough constituency represented in the British House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
 from 1885 to 1906.






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Gerald William Balfour, 2nd Earl of Balfour PC
Privy Council of the United Kingdom

Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British monarchy. Its members are largely senior politicians, who were or are members of either the House of Commons of the United Kingdom or House of Lords....
 (9 April 1853 – 14 January 1945), known as Gerald Balfour until 1930, was a British nobleman and Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservative Party, is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom....
 politician. Balfour was the fourth son of James Maitland Balfour
James Maitland Balfour

James Maitland Balfour , of Whittinghame, Berwickshire, was a Scotland Member of Parliament. He was the father of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Arthur Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour....
, Whittingehame
Whittingehame

Whittingehame is a parish with a small village in East Lothian, Scotland, about halfway between Haddington, East Lothian and Dunbar, and near East Linton....
, Haddingtonshire and Lady Blanche Cecil, daughter of James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury
James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury

James Brownlow William Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury was an England Conservative Party politician. He was known by the courtesy title Viscount Cranborne before 1823....
. Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom and the head of government Her Majesty's Government....
 Arthur Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, was his elder brother. He was educated at Eton
Eton College

Eton College, also known as Eton, is a world-famous British independent school for boys, founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England. It was founded as the King's College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor....
 and at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College is one of the 31 Colleges of the University of Cambridge of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or University of Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduate students, and over 160 Fellows; however, counting only the student body it has somewhat fewer than Homert...
, where he gained 1st Class Honours in the Classical Tripos
TRIPOS

TRIPOS is a computer operating system. Development started in 1976 at the Computer Laboratory of University of Cambridge and it was headed by Dr....
.

Political career

Balfour sat as Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservative Party, is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom....
 Member of Parliament for Leeds Central
Leeds Central (UK Parliament constituency)

Leeds Central is a borough constituency represented in the British House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
 from 1885 to 1906. During this time he was a member of Commission on Labour, and Private Secretary
Private Secretary

In the United Kingdom government, a Private Secretary is a civil servant in a Department or Ministry, responsible to the Secretary of State or Minister of the Crown....
 to his brother Arthur Balfour
Arthur Balfour

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, Order of the Garter, Order of Merit , Privy Council of the United Kingdom was a United Kingdom Conservative Party politician and statesman....
, when he was President of the Local Government Board
President of the Local Government Board

The President of the Local Government Board was a ministerial post, frequently a Cabinet position, in the United Kingdom, established in 1871. The Local Government Board itself was established in 1871 and took over supervisory functions from the Board of Trade and the Home Office, including the Local Government Act Office that had been esta...
 in 1885 to 1886. He later served as Chief Secretary for Ireland
Chief Secretary for Ireland

The Chief Secretary was the key office-holder of state in the United Kingdom administration in Ireland. Towards the end of Crown rule in Ireland, he operated in a manner similar to that of the Prime Minister in the English and later British Parliament....
 from 1895 to 1900, as President of the Board of Trade from 1900 to 1905 and as President of the Local Government Board
President of the Local Government Board

The President of the Local Government Board was a ministerial post, frequently a Cabinet position, in the United Kingdom, established in 1871. The Local Government Board itself was established in 1871 and took over supervisory functions from the Board of Trade and the Home Office, including the Local Government Act Office that had been esta...
 in 1905. He was admitted to the Irish Privy Council in 1895 and to the British Privy Council in 1905. On retiring from the House of Commons, he was Chairman of the Commission on Lighthouse Administration in 1908, and Chairman of the Cambridge Committee of the Commission on Oxford and Cambridge Universities. He received an Honorary LLD
Doctor of Laws

Doctor of Laws is a doctorate-level academic degree in law. What follows is a country-by-country analysis of earned doctorates in law, which are the most analogous to the concept of the LL.D....
 from Cambridge University, and was a Fellow of Trinity
Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College is one of the 31 Colleges of the University of Cambridge of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or University of Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduate students, and over 160 Fellows; however, counting only the student body it has somewhat fewer than Homert...
. He succeeded his brother Arthur as second Earl of Balfour in 1930 according to a special remainder in the letters patent
Letters patent

Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of an open letter issued by a monarch or government, granting an office, right, government-granted monopoly, title, or status to a person or to some entity such as a corporation....
 and took a seat in the House of Lords
House of Lords

The House of Lords is the second house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords". The Parliament comprises the British monarchy, the British House of Commons , and the Lords....
.

Marriage and children

Lord Balfour married Lady Elizabeth Edith "Betty" Balfour, daughter of Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton
Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton

Edward Robert Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton Order of the Bath Order of the Star of India Order of the Indian Empire Privy Council of the United Kingdom was an England statesman and poet....
, in 1887. They had six children:

  • Lady Eleanor Balfour (???? - ????)
  • Lady Ruth Balfour (d. 30 August 1967)
  • Mary Edith Balfour (d. 21 January 1894)
  • Lady Evelyn Barbara "Eve" Balfour
    Lady Eve Balfour

    Lady Eve Balfour was an England farmer, educator, organic farming pioneer, and a founding figure in the organic movement. She was one of the first women to study agriculture at an English university, graduating from the University of Reading....
     (b. 16 July 1898 - d. 1990)
  • Robert Arthur Lytton Balfour, 3rd Earl of Balfour (b. 31 December 1902 - d. 28 November 1968)
  • Lady Kathleen Constance Blanche Balfour (b. 1912 - d. 20 August 1996).


The Countess of Balfour died in 1942, aged 74. Lord Balfour survived her by three years and died in January 1945, aged 91. He was succeeded in the earldom by his only son Robert.

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