Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman,
GCBThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the medieval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(7 September 1836 – 22 April 1908) was a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name and the state form of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927...
Liberal
statesmanA statesman or stateswoman or statesperson is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...
who served as
Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom and the Head of Her Majesty's Government...
from 5 December 1905 until resigning due to ill health on 3 April 1908. No previous
First Lord of the TreasuryThe First Lord of the Treasury is the head of the commission exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom, and is usually—but not always—also the Prime Minister. Currently, the office is held by Gordon Brown...
had been officially called "Prime Minister"; this term only came into official usage 5 days after he took office.
Early Life
Campbell-Bannerman was born at
KelvinsideKelvinside is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde and is bounded by Great Western Road to the South with Kelvindale and the River Kelvin itself to its North. It is known as one of the most affluent areas of Glasgow, with many large villas, similar to...
House in
GlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, in 1836 as
Henry Campbell. The surname
Bannerman was added to his surname in 1871 as required by his maternal uncle's
willA will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his estate and provides for the transfer of his property at death. For the devolution of property not disposed of by will, see inheritance and intestacy...
. It was a condition of his
inheritanceInheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
of his uncle's
KentKent , originally Cantia, is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent...
estate, Hunton Court.
He was the second son and youngest of six children born to Sir James Campbell (1790-1876), who was Lord Provost of Glasgow 1840-1843, and his wife Janet
née Bannerman (d. 1873). Henry Campbell was educated at the
High School of GlasgowThe High School of Glasgow is an independent, co-educational day school in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the oldest school in Scotland, and the twelfth oldest in the United Kingdom. It is a selective school, meaning prospective pupils must sit an entrance test to gain admission. The Rector of the school...
(1845-1847), the
University of GlasgowThe University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest surviving university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities...
(1851), and
Trinity College, CambridgeTrinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 160 Fellows ....
(1854-1858), where he achieved a
Third-Class DegreeThe British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme for undergraduate degrees in the United Kingdom...
in
Classical TriposThe Classical Tripos at Cambridge University is equivalent to Literae Humaniores at Oxford. It is traditionally a three year degree, but for those who have not studied Latin and Greek at school a four year course has been introduced...
. After graduating, he joined his family's firm, J.& W. Campbell & Co., who were warehousemen and
draperDraper is the now largely obsolete term for a wholesaler, or especially retailer of cloth, mainly for clothing, or one who works in a draper's shop. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. The drapers were an important trade guild...
s, based in Ingram Street in Glasgow. Campbell was made a partner in the firm in 1860. Following his marriage that year to
Sarah Charlotte BruceSarah Charlotte, Lady Campbell-Bannerman, née Sarah Charlotte Bruce was the wife of British prime minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman....
, Henry and his new bride set up residence at 6 Claremont Gardens in the
Park districtThe Park District of the West End of the city of Glasgow, Scotland, is an area located around Park Circus, which sits atop a hill beside Kelvingrove Park. The area is bordered by Woodlands, Kelvingrove and the City Centre, as well as Kelvingrove Park...
in the West End of Glasgow.
Member of Parliament
In 1868 he was elected to the
House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 646 members, who are known as "Members...
as Liberal
Member of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of...
for
Stirling BurghsStirling Burghs was a district of burghs constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1708 to 1918. The constituency comprised the burghs of Stirling in Stirlingshire, Dunfermline, and Inverkeithing in Fife, Queensferry, in Linlithgowshire , and Culross, which...
— a constituency he was to represent for forty years.
He was appointed as
Financial Secretary to the War OfficeFinancial Secretary to the War Office was an office of the British government, the financial secretary of the War Office department.The post was combined with that of Under-Secretary of State for War from 17 April 1947....
in November 1871, serving in this position until 1874, and again from 1880 to 1882. After serving as Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty from 1882 to 1884, he entered
Gladstone'sWilliam Ewart Gladstone was a British Liberal Party statesman and four times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom...
second cabinet as
Chief Secretary for IrelandThe Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key office-holder of state in the British 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...
in 1884.
In Gladstone's Third (1886) and Fourth (1892-1894) Cabinets and Rosebery's Government (1894-1895) he served as
Secretary of State for WarThe position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a British cabinet-level position, first applied to Henry Dundas . In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position was re-instated in 1854...
, where he persuaded the
Duke of CambridgePrince George, Duke of Cambridge was a member of the British Royal Family, a male-line grandson of King George III. The Duke was an army officer and served as commander-in-chief of the British Army from 1856 to 1895...
, the
Queen'sVictoria was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India of the British Raj from 1 May 1876, until her death...
cousin, to resign as Commander-in-Chief. This earned Campbell-Bannerman a knighthood.
Liberal leader
In 1898 Campbell-Bannerman succeeded
Sir William Vernon HarcourtSir William George Granville Venables Vernon Harcourt was a British lawyer, journalist and Liberal statesman. He served as Member of Parliament for various constituencies and held the offices of Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer under William Gladstone before becoming Leader of the...
as leader of the Liberals in the House of Commons. The
Boer WarThe Second Boer War , commonly referred to as The Boer War and also known as the South African War , the Anglo-Boer War and in Afrikaans as the Anglo-Boereoorlog or Tweede Vryheidsoorlog , or the Engelse oorlog was fought...
(1899-1902) split the Liberal party into Imperialist and Pro-Boer camps and Campbell-Bannerman had a difficult time in holding together the strongly divided party, which was defeated in the "
khaki electionIn British political history, a khaki election is any national election which is heavily influenced by wartime or postwar sentiment. In the British general election of 1900, the Conservative Party government of Lord Salisbury was returned to office with an increased majority over the Liberal Party...
" of
1900The United Kingdom general election of 1900 was held from 25 September to 24 October 1900. Also known as the khaki election , it was held in the midst of the return of soldiers from the Second Boer War...
. However the Liberal Party was able to unite in its opposition to the
Education Act 1902Education Act 1902 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting education in England and Wales. At the time of passage of the Act, the Conservative Party was in power.-Terms:The Act abolished the 2568 school boards set up by the...
and, more significantly,
Joseph ChamberlainJoseph Chamberlain was an influential British businessman, politician, and statesman.In his early years Chamberlain was a radically minded Liberal Party member, a campaigner for educational reform, and President of the Board of Trade. He later became a Liberal Unionist in alliance with the...
's proposals for Tariff Reform (protectionism) in May 1903. Chamberlain's proposals dominated politics through the rest of 1903 up until the general election of 1906. Campbell-Bannerman, like other Liberals, held an unshakable belief in
free tradeFree trade is a type of trade policy that allows traders to act and transact without interference from government. According to the law of comparative advantage the policy permits trading partners mutual gains from trade of goods and services....
. He proclaimed: "...to dispute Free Trade, after fifty years' experience of it, is like disputing the law of gravitation". On another occasion he explained the Liberals' support for free trade:
We are satisfied that it is right because it gives the freest play to individual energy and initiative and character and the largest liberty both to producer and consumer. ... trade is injured when it is not allowed to follow its natural course, and when it is either hampered or diverted by artificial obstacles. ... We believe in free trade because we believe in the capacity of our countrymen. That at least is why I oppose protection root and branch, veiled and unveiled, one-sided or reciprocal. I oppose it in any form. Besides we have experience of fifty years, during which our prosperity has become the envy of the world.
In 1903 the Liberal Party's chief whip negotiated a pact with
Ramsay MacDonaldJames Ramsay MacDonald was a British politician and twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He rose from humble origins to become the first Labour Prime Minister in 1924....
of the Labour Representation Committee to withdraw Liberal candidates in order to help LRC candidates in certain seats. Campbell-Bannerman got on well with Labour leaders and he said in 1903: "We are keenly in sympathy with the representatives of Labour. We have too few of them in the House of Commons". However he was not a socialist. One biographer has written: "He was deeply and genuinely concerned about the plight of the poor and so had readily adopted the rhetoric of progressivism, but he was not a progressive".
The Liberals returned to power in December 1905 when Balfour resigned as Prime Minister, leaving Campbell-Bannerman to form a minority government. Campbell-Bannerman immediately dissolved Parliament and called
a general electionThe United Kingdom general election of 1906 was held from 12 January to 8 February 1906.The Liberals, led by sitting minority Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman, won a large majority in the election...
. In his first speech as premier on 21 December 1905, Campbell-Bannerman launched the Liberal election campaign, focusing on the traditional Liberal platform of "peace, retrenchment and reform":
Expenditure calls for taxes, and taxes are the plaything of the tariff reformer. Militarism, extravagance, protection are weeds which grow in the same field, and if you want to clear the field for honest cultivation you must root them all out. For my own part, I do not believe that we should have been confronted by the spectre of protection if it had not been for the South African war. ... Depend upon it that in fighting for our open ports and for the cheap food and material upon which the welfare of the people and the prosperity of our commerce depend we are fighting against those powers, privileges, injustices, and monopolies which are unalterably opposed to the triumph of democratic principles.
The Liberals swept to power in a landslide victory.
Prime Minister
Campbell-Bannerman's premiership saw the
EntenteThe Anglo-Russian Entente or the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 was an accord signed on 31 August 1907 in St. Petersburg by Count Alexander Izvolsky, Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire, and Sir Arthur Nicolson, Britain's ambassador in Russia....
with Russia in 1907, brought about principally by the Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey. In that same year, Campbell-Bannerman achieved the honour of becoming the
Father of the HouseFather of the House is a term that has by tradition been unofficially bestowed on certain members of some national legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the term refers to the oldest member, but in others it refers the longest-serving member.The...
, the only serving British Prime Minister to do so to date. Nevertheless his health soon took a turn for the worse, and he resigned as Prime Minister on 3 April 1908, to be succeeded by the
Chancellor of the ExchequerThe Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called The Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
, Herbert Henry Asquith. Campbell-Bannerman remained in residence at
10 Downing Street10 Downing Street is the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury and hence Prime Minister of the United Kingdom...
in the immediate aftermath of his resignation, and became the only (former) Prime Minister to die there, on 22 April 1908. His last words were "This is not the end of me". Campbell-Bannerman was buried in the churchyard of
MeigleMeigle is a village in Strathmore, Scotland. It lies in the council area of Perth and Kinross in the Coupar Angus and Meigle ward. The nearest town is Forfar in neighbouring Angus. Other smaller settlements nearby are Balkeerie, Kirkinch and Kinloch. Meigle is accessed from the north and south...
Parish Church,
PerthshirePerthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...
, near Belmont Castle, his home since 1887. A relatively modest stone plaque set in the exterior wall of the church serves as a memorial.
Legacy
In an uncharacteristically emotional speech on the day of Campbell-Bannerman's funeral, his successor
H. H. AsquithHerbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC, KC served as the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916...
told the House of Commons: "He was not ashamed, even on the verge of old age, to see visions and to dream dreams... He met both good and evil fortune with the same unclouded brow, the same unruffled temper, the same unshakeable confidence in the justice and righteousness of his cause."
Another of Campbell-Bannerman's cabinet Ministers — who was also later to serve as Prime Minister (and, years after his premiership, as Father of the House as well) —
David Lloyd GeorgeDavid Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British statesman and the only Welsh Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; he is also the only one to have spoken English as a second language, Welsh having been his first.During a long tenure of office, mainly as Chancellor of the...
, said of his passing, "I have never met a great public figure who so completely won the attachment and affection of the men who came into contact with him. He was not merely admired and respected; he was absolutely loved by us all. The masses of the people of the country, especially the more unfortunate of them, have lost the best friend they have ever had in the high place of the land. ... He was a truly great man. A great head and a great heart. He was absolutely the bravest man I ever met in politics."
George DangerfieldGeorge Dangerfield was a journalist, an author, and the literary editor of Vanity Fair from 1933 to 1935....
said Campbell-Bannerman's death "was like the passing of true Liberalism. Sir Henry had believed in Peace, Retrenchment, and Reform, those amiable deities who presided so complacently over large portions of the Victorian era... And now almost the last true worshipper at those large, equivocal altars lay dead". Campbell-Bannerman held firmly to the Liberal principles of
Richard CobdenRichard Cobden was a British manufacturer and Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with John Bright in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League as well as with the Cobden-Chevalier Treaty.-Early years:...
and William Gladstone. It was not until Campbell-Bannerman's departure that the doctrines of
New LiberalismSocial liberalism, a reformulation of 19th century liberalism, rests on the view that unrestrained capitalism is a hindrance to true freedom. Instead of the negative freedom of classical liberalism, social liberals offered positive freedom that would allow individuals to prosper with public...
came to be implemented.
There is a
blue plaqueA blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker...
outside Campbell-Bannerman's house at 6 Grosvenor Place, London SW1. On 6 December 2008 former Liberal Democrat leaders
Charles KennedyCharles Peter Kennedy MP is a British politician.From 9 August 1999 until 7 January 2006, he was the leader of the Liberal Democrats, the third largest political party in the United Kingdom....
and
David SteelDavid Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, KT, KBE, PC is a British and Scottish politician and a Liberal Democrat member of the UK House of Lords...
, now Lord Steel of Aikwood, unveiled a plaque to commemorate Sir Henry at at the home in Bath Street, Glasgow. Lord Steel praised his predecessor as Liberal Party leader as an "overlooked radical" whose 1906 landslide victory had paved the way for a succession of reforming governments. "He led the way for the longest period of successful radical government ever, which was continued by Herbert Asquith and David Lloyd George," Lord Steel said.
His bronze bust, sculpted by
Paul Raphael MontfordPaul Raphael Montford was an English-born sculptor, active in Australia; winner of the gold medal of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1934.-Early life:...
is in
Westminster AbbeyThe Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to popularly and informally as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster...
(1908).
Campbell-Bannerman's Government
- Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman — Prime Minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. The position is usually held by, but need not always be held by, a politician. In many systems, the prime minister selects and can dismiss other members of the cabinet, and...
, First Lord of the TreasuryThe First Lord of the Treasury is the head of the commission exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom, and is usually—but not always—also the Prime Minister. Currently, the office is held by Gordon Brown...
and Leader of the House of CommonsThe Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons...
- Lord Loreburn
Robert Threshie Reid, 1st Earl Loreburn GCMG, PC, QC was a British lawyer, judge and Liberal politician. He served as Lord Chancellor between 1905 and 1912.-Background and education:...
— Lord ChancellorThe Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
- Lord Crewe
Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe KG , PC , known as the Lord Houghton from 1885 to 1895 and as the Earl of Crewe from 1895 to 1911, was a British statesman and writer....
— Lord President of the CouncilThe Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above the Lord Privy Seal. The Lord President has the responsibility of presiding over meetings of the Privy Council...
- Lord Ripon
George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon KG, GCSI, CIE, PC , known as Viscount Goderich from 1833 to 1859 and as the Earl de Grey and Ripon from 1859 to 1871, was a British politician who served in every Liberal cabinet from 1861 until his death forty-eight years later.-Background...
— Lord Privy SealThe Lord Privy Seal or Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and above the Lord Great Chamberlain. The office is one of the traditional sinecure offices of state...
and Leader of the House of LordsLeader of the House of Lords is a function in the British government that is always held in combination with a formal Cabinet position, most often Lord President of the Council, Lord Privy Seal or Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. The Leader of the House takes charge of the government's...
- H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC, KC served as the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916...
- Chancellor of the ExchequerThe Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called The Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
- Herbert Gladstone
Herbert John Gladstone, 1st Viscount Gladstone GCB, GCMG, GBE, PC was a British Liberal statesman. He was Home Secretary from 1905 to 1910 and Governor-General of the Union of South Africa from 1910 to 1914.-Background:...
— Secretary of State for the Home Department
- Sir Edward Grey
Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon KG, PC, FZL, DL , better known as Sir Edward Grey, was a British statesman.-Family and early life:...
— Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
- Lord Elgin
Victor Alexander Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin, 13th Earl of Kincardine, KG GCSI, GCIE, PC , known as Lord Bruce until 1863, was a British statesman who served as Viceroy of India from 1894 to 1899.-Background and education:...
— Secretary of State for the ColoniesThe Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet official in charge of managing the various British colonies. The position was first created in 1768 to deal with the increasingly troublesome North American colonies...
- Richard Haldane
Richard Burdon Sanderson Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane, KT, OM, PC, KC FRS, FSA , was an important British Liberal and Labour politician, lawyer, and philosopher.-Childhood and Family Background:...
— Secretary of State for WarThe position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a British cabinet-level position, first applied to Henry Dundas . In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position was re-instated in 1854...
- John Morley - Secretary of State for India
The office of Secretary of State for India, or India Secretary, was created in 1858 when Company rule in India ended and British India was brought under direct British administration ....
- Lord Tweedmouth
Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth KT, PC was a British Liberal Party statesman who served in various capacities in the Liberal governments of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.-Background:...
— First Lord of the Admiralty
- David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British statesman and the only Welsh Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; he is also the only one to have spoken English as a second language, Welsh having been his first.During a long tenure of office, mainly as Chancellor of the...
- President of the Board of Trade
- Sir Henry Fowler
Henry Hartley Fowler, 1st Viscount Wolverhampton PC , was a British solicitor and Liberal politician.-Background:Wolverhampton was born in Sunderland but moved to Wolverhampton and practiced as a solicitor...
— Chancellor of the Duchy of LancasterThe Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a sinecure office in the government of the United Kingdom.-History:Originally he was the chief officer in the daily management of the Duchy of Lancaster , but that estate is now run by a deputy, leaving the position of Chancellor to...
- Sir John Sinclair
John Sinclair, 1st Baron Pentland, GCSI, GCIE was a Scottish Liberal Party politician, soldier, peer, administrator and Privy Councillor who served as the Secretary of Scotland from 1905 to 1912 and the Governor of Madras from 1912 to 1919.Baron Pentland was born John Sinclair to Sir John...
— Secretary for ScotlandThe Secretary for Scotland was chief minister in charge of the Scottish Office in the United Kingdom government. The post of Secretary of State for Scotland existed briefly after the Union of the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England in 1707 till the Jacobite rising of 1745.After the...
- James Bryce
James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce of Dechmont, OM, GCVO, FRS, PC, FBA was a British jurist, historian and politician.- History :...
— Chief Secretary for IrelandThe Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key office-holder of state in the British 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...
- John Burns
John Elliot Burns PC was a British trade unionist and politician of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly associated with London politics. He was a socialist and then a Liberal Member of Parliament and Minister. He was anti-drink and a keen sportsman...
- President of the Local Government BoardThe 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...
- Lord Carrington — President of the Board of Agriculture
- Augustine Birrell
Augustine Birrell PC, KC was an English politician, barrister, academic and author. He was Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1907 to 1916, resigning in the immediate aftermath of the Easter Rising.-Early life:...
— President of the Board of Education
- Sydney Buxton
Sydney Charles Buxton, 1st Earl Buxton, GCMG, PC was a British Liberal politician of the late 19th and early 20th centuries....
— Postmaster-GeneralThe Postmaster General of the United Kingdom is a defunct Cabinet-level ministerial 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 telegraphs...
Changes
- January 1907 — Augustine Birrell succeeds Bryce as Irish Secretary. Reginald McKenna
Reginald McKenna was a British banker and Liberal. He notably served as Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer during the premiership of H. H. Asquith.-Background and education:...
succeeds Birrell at the Board of Education.
- March 1907 — Lewis Harcourt, the First Commissioner of Public Works, enters the Cabinet.
Further reading
- ‘Maistly Scotch’ Campbell-Bannerman and Liberal Leadership by Ewen A Cameron, Journal of Liberal History, Issue 54, Spring 2007
- Campbell-Bannerman (British Prime Ministers of the 20th century series) by Roy Hattersley, Haus publishing 2006
- C. B.: Life of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman by John Wilson, Constable & St Martin's Press, 1973
- Biography of Campbell-Bannerman by Tony Greaves in 'Dictionary of Liberal Biography', Politico's, 1998
- The Life of the Right Hon Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman GCB by J A Spender, Hodder & Stoughton, 1923
External links
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