Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby
Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, KG GCMG PC PC (Ire) (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869), known as Lord Stanley from 1834 to 1851, was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served three times as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. To date, he is the longest-serving leader of the Conservative Party. He is one of only four British prime ministers to have three or more separate periods in office. However, his ministries each lasted less than two years and totalled three years and 280 days. Derby introduced the state education system in Ireland, and reformed Parliament.
The Earl of Derby | |
|---|---|
Lord Derby in 1865 | |
| Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | |
| In office 28 June 1866 – 25 February 1868 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Preceded by | The Earl Russell |
| Succeeded by | Benjamin Disraeli |
| In office 20 February 1858 – 11 June 1859 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Preceded by | The Viscount Palmerston |
| Succeeded by | The Viscount Palmerston |
| In office 23 February 1852 – 17 December 1852 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Preceded by | The Earl Russell |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Aberdeen |
| Secretary of State for War and the Colonies | |
| In office 3 September 1841 – 23 December 1845 | |
| Prime Minister | Sir Robert Peel |
| Preceded by | The Earl Russell |
| Succeeded by | William Ewart Gladstone |
| In office 3 April 1833 – 5 June 1834 | |
| Prime Minister | The Earl Grey |
| Preceded by | The Viscount Goderich |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Spring Rice |
| Chief Secretary for Ireland | |
| In office 29 November 1830 – 29 March 1833 | |
| Prime Minister | The Earl Grey |
| Preceded by | Sir Henry Hardinge |
| Succeeded by | Sir John Hobhouse |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 29 March 1799 Knowsley Hall, Knowsley, Lancashire, England |
| Died | 23 October 1869 (aged 70) Knowsley Hall, Knowsley, Lancashire, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Other political affiliations | Whig (before 1841) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3, including Edward and Frederick |
| Parents |
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| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
| Signature | |
Historian Frances Walsh has written that it was Derby:
who educated the party and acted as its strategist to pass the last great Whig measure, the 1867 Reform Act. It was his greatest achievement to create the modern Conservative Party in the framework of the Whig constitution, though it was Disraeli who laid claim to it.
Scholars long ignored his role but in the 21st century rank him highly among all British prime ministers.