Lord President of the Council

Lord President of the Council
Arms of Her Majesty's Government
Incumbent Chris Grayling since 8 May 2015
Privy Council Office
Style	The Right Honourable
Appointer	the monarch on advice of the Prime Minister
Inaugural holder	Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk
Formation	14 August 1530
Website	www.privycouncil.independent.gov.uk/

The 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 usually attends each meeting of the Privy Council, presenting business for the monarch's approval. In the modern era, the holder is by convention always a member of one of the houses of Parliament and the office is a Cabinet post. The Lord President is currently Chris Grayling as of 8 May 2015.

The office and its history

The Privy Council meets once a month, wherever the Sovereign may be residing at the time, to give formal approval to Orders in Council. Only a few Privy Counsellors need attend such meetings, and only when invited to do so at the Government's request. As the duties of the Lord President are not onerous, the post has often been given to a government minister whose responsibilities are not department-specific. In recent years it has been most usual for the Lord President to also serve as Leader of the House of Commons or Leader of the House of Lords.

Prior to the 2010 change of government, the Lord President was Peter Mandelson, who was also First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. This was the first time that the Lord President had not been a leader of one of the Houses since the period 20 October 1963 to 16 October 1964, wherein Quintin Hogg (2nd Viscount Hailsham until November 1963), after resigning as Leader of the House of Lords, kept the office along with the offices of Minister for Sport and, from 1 April 1964, also of Secretary of State for Education and Science.

On several occasions since 1954, non-British Ministers have served briefly as acting Lords President of the Council, solely to preside over a meeting of the Privy Council held in a Commonwealth realm. Examples of this practice are the meetings in New Zealand in 1990 and 1995, when Geoffrey Palmer and James Bolger respectively were acting Lords President.

In the 19th century, the Lord President was generally the cabinet member responsible for the education system amongst their other duties. This role was gradually scaled back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries but remnants of it remain, such as the oversight of the governance of various universities.

A particularly vital role was played by the Lord President of the Council during the Second World War. The Lord President served as chairman of the Lord President's Committee. This committee acted as a central clearing house for dealing with economic problems that affected the country. As such, it was vital to the smooth running of the British war economy and consequently the entire British war effort.

Winston Churchill, clearly believing that this wartime co-ordinating role was beneficial, introduced a similar but expanded system in the first few years of his post-war premiership. The so-called 'overlord ministers' included Frederick Leathers as 'Secretary of State for the Co-ordination of Transport, Fuel and Power' and Frederick Marquis, 1st Baron Woolton as Lord President. Woolton's job was to co-ordinate the then separate ministries of agriculture and food. The historian Peter Hennessy quotes a PhD thesis by Michael Kandiah saying that Woolton was 'arguably the most successful of the Overlords' partly because his ministries were quite closely related, indeed they were merged in 1955 as the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

The Lord President has no role in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

Visitorial role

The Lord President also serves as the Visitor for several British universities, including:

• University of Birmingham
• University of Bristol
• University of East Anglia
• University of Hull
• Imperial College London
• Keele University
• University of Leeds
• University of Leicester
• University of Liverpool
• University of London (but not King's College London or University College London)
• University of Nottingham
• University of Reading
• University of Sheffield
• University of Southampton
• University of Sussex
• University of Wales (but not Lampeter)

Partial list of office holders

1530–1553

• Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk (1530–14 August 1545)
• William Paulet, 1st Baron St John (January 1546 – February 1550)
• John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (February 1550 – July 1553)
• Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel (1553–?)

1621–1631

• Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester (September 1621 – July 1628)
• James Ley, 1st Earl of Marlborough (July 1628–14 December 1628)
• Edward Conway, 1st Viscount Conway (14 December 1628 – 3 January 1631)

1678–1714

• Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury (21 April 1679 – 15 October 1679)
• John Robartes, 1st Earl of Radnor (24 October 1679 – 24 August 1684)
• Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester (24 August 1684 – 18 February 1685)
• George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax (18 February 1685 – 4 December 1685)
• Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland (4 December 1685 – October 1688)
• Richard Graham, 1st Viscount Preston (October 1688 – December 1688)
• Thomas Osborne, 1st Marquess of Carmarthen, 1st Duke of Leeds (1694) (14 February 1689 – 18 May 1699)
• Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke (18 May 1699 – 29 January 1702)
• Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset (29 January 1702 – 13 July 1702)
• Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke (13 July 1702 – 25 November 1708)
• John Somers, 1st Baron Somers (25 November 1708 – 21 September 1710)
• Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester (21 September 1710 – 13 June 1711)
• John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby (13 June 1711 – 23 September 1714)

Hanoverian

• Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham (23 September 1714 – 6 July 1716)
• William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire (6 July 1716 – 16 March 1718)
• Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland (16 March 1718 – 6 February 1719)
• Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull (6 February. 1719–11 June 1720)
• Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend (11 June 1720 – 25 June 1721)
• Henry Boyle, 1st Baron Carleton (25 June 1721 – 27 March 1725)
• William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire (27 March 1725 – 4 June 1729)
• Thomas Trevor, 1st Baron Trevor (8 May 1730 – 19 June 1730)
• Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington (31 December 1730 – 13 February 1742)
• William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington (13 February 1742 – 3 January 1745)
• Lionel Cranfield Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset (3 January 1745 – 17 June 1751)
• John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville (17 June 1751 – 2 January 1763)
• John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford (9 September 1763 – 12 July 1765)
• Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea and 3rd Earl of Nottingham (12 July 1765 – 30 July 1766)
• Robert Henley, 1st Earl of Northington (30 July 1766 – 22 December 1767)
• Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Gower (22 December 1767 – 24 November 1779)
• Henry Bathurst, 2nd Earl Bathurst (24 November 1779 – 27 March 1782)
• Charles Pratt, 1st Baron Camden (27 March 1782–2 April. 1783)
• David Murray, 7th Viscount Stormont (2 April 1783 – 19 December 1783)
• Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Gower (19 December 1783 – 1 December 1784)
• Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1 December 1784 – 18 April 1794)
• William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam (1 July 1794 – 17 December 1794)
• David Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield (17 December 1794 – 21 September 1796)
• John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham (21 September 1796 – 30 July 1801)
• William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland (30 July 1801 – 14 January 1805)
• Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth (14 January 1805 – 10 July 1805)
• John Jeffreys Pratt, 2nd Earl Camden (10 July 1805 – 19 February 1806)
• William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam (19 February 1806 – 8 October 1806)
• Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth (8 October 1806 – 26 March 1807)
• John Jeffreys Pratt, 2nd Earl Camden (26 March 1807 – 8 April 1812)
• Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth (8 April 1812 – 11 June 1812)
• Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby (11 June 1812 – 17 August 1827)
• William Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland (17 August 1827 – 28 January 1828)
• Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst (28 January 1828 – 22 November 1830)
• Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne (22 November 1830 – 15 December 1834)
• James St Clair Erskine, 2nd Earl of Rosslyn (15 December 1834 – 18 April 1835)

Victorian

• Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne (18 April 1835 – 3 September 1841)
• James Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, 1st Baron Wharncliffe (3 September 1841 – 19 December 1845)
• Walter Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch (21 January 1846 – 6 July 1846)
• Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne (6 July 1846 – 27 February 1852)
• William Lowther, 2nd Earl of Lonsdale (27 February 1852 – 28 December 1852)
• Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville (28 December 1852 – 12 June 1854)
• Lord John Russell (12 June 1854 – 8 February 1855)
• Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville (8 February 1855 – 26 February 1858)
• James Brownlow William Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury (26 February 1858 – 18 June 1859)
• Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville (18 June 1859 – 6 July 1866)
• Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos (6 July 1866 – 8 March 1867)
• John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough (8 March 1867 – 9 December 1868)
• George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon (9 December 1868 – 9 August 1873)
• Henry Austin Bruce, 1st Baron Aberdare (9 August 1873 – 21 February 1874)
• Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond and Lennox (21 February 1874 – 28 April 1880)
• John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer (28 April 1880 – 19 March 1883)
• Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue, 1st Baron Carlingford (19 March 1883 – 24 June 1885)
• Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 1st Viscount Cranbrook (24 June 1885 – 6 February 1886)
• John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer (6 February 1886 – 3 August 1886)
• Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 1st Viscount Cranbrook (3 August 1886 – 18 August 1892)
• John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley (18 August 1892 – 10 March 1894)
• Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery (10 March 1894 – 29 June 1895)

Edwardian and war-time

Name		Portrait	Concurrent title(s)		Tenure	Political party	Prime Minister
	Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire		President of the Board of Education (3 March 1900 – July 1902)		29 June 1895 – 19 October 1903	Liberal Unionist		Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (Coalition)
				Leader of the House of Lords (from 12 July 1902)				Arthur Balfour (Coalition)
	Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 6th Marquess of Londonderry		President of the Board of Education		19 October 1903 – 11 December 1905	Conservative
	Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe				11 December 1905 – 16 April 1908	Liberal		Henry Campbell-Bannerman
	Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth				16 April – 19 October 1908			H. H. Asquith
	Henry Fowler, 1st Viscount Wolverhampton				19 October 1908 – 21 June 1910
	William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp				21 June – 7 November 1910
	John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn		Secretary of State for India (7 March – 25 May 1911)		7 November 1910 – 5 August 1914
	William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp				5 August 1914 – 25 May 1915
	Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe			Leader of the House of Lords President of the Board of Trade (from 18 August 1916)	25 May 1915 – 10 December 1916			H. H. Asquith (War coalition)
	George Curzon, 1st Earl Curzon of Kedleston			Leader of the House of Lords	10 December 1916 – 23 October 1919	Conservative		David Lloyd George (Coalition)
	Arthur Balfour (1st Earl of Balfour from 5 May 1922)				23 October 1919 – 19 October 1922
	James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury		Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (until 25 May 1923)		24 October 1922 – 22 January 1924			Bonar Law
								Stanley Baldwin
	Charles Cripps, 1st Baron Parmoor				22 January – 3 November 1924	Labour		Ramsay MacDonald
	George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston			Leader of the House of Lords	6 November 1924 – 27 April 1925	Conservative		Stanley Baldwin
	Arthur Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour				27 April 1925 – 4 June 1929
	Charles Cripps, 1st Baron Parmoor			Leader of the House of Lords	7 June 1929 – 24 August 1931	Labour		Ramsay MacDonald
	Stanley Baldwin		Lord Privy Seal (from 29 September 1932)		25 August 1931 – 7 June 1935	Conservative		Ramsay MacDonald (1st and 2nd Nat. coalition)
	Ramsay MacDonald				7 June 1935 – 28 May 1937	National Labour		Stanley Baldwin (3rd Nat. coalition)
	Edward Wood, 3rd Viscount Halifax			Leader of the House of Lords Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (from 21 February 1938)	28 May 1937 – 9 March 1938	Conservative		Neville Chamberlain (4th Nat. and War coalition)
	Douglas Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham	75px			9 March – 31 October 1938
	Walter Runciman, 1st Viscount Runciman of Doxford				31 October 1938 – 3 September 1939	Liberal
	James Stanhope, 7th Earl Stanhope			Leader of the House of Lords	3 September 1939 – 11 May 1940	Conservative
	Neville Chamberlain				11 May – 3 October 1940			Winston Churchill (War coalition)
John Anderson					3 October 1940 – 24 September 1943	National
	Clement Attlee				24 September 1943 – 23 May 1945	Labour
	Frederick Marquis, 1st Baron Woolton				25 May 1945 – 26 July 1945	National		Winston Churchill (Caretaker coalition)

Post-War

Name		Portrait	Concurrent title(s)		Tenure	Political party	Prime Minister
	Herbert Morrison	75px		Leader of the House of Commons	27 July 1945 – 9 March 1951	Labour		Clement Attlee
	Christopher Addison, 1st Viscount Addison			Leader of the House of Lords	9 March – 26 October 1951
	Frederick Marquis, 1st Baron Woolton				28 October 1951 – 25 November 1952	Conservative		Winston Churchill
	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury			Leader of the House of Lords	25 November 1952 – 29 March 1957			Winston Churchill
								Anthony Eden
								Harold Macmillan
	Alec Douglas-Home, 14th Earl of Home				29 March 1957 – 17 September 1957
	Quintin Hogg, 2nd Viscount Hailsham	75px			17 September 1957 – 14 October 1959
	Alec Douglas-Home, 14th Earl of Home			Leader of the House of Lords	14 October 1959 – 27 July 1960
	Quintin Hogg (disclaimed as 2nd Viscount Hailsham on 20 November 1963)	75px		Leader of the House of Lords (until Oct. 1963) and Minister for Science	27 July 1960 – 16 October 1964
			Minister for Science (20 October 1963 – 1 April 1964)					Alec Douglas-Home
			Sec. of State for Education and Science (from Apr. 1964)
	Herbert Bowden			Leader of the House of Commons	16 October 1964 – 11 August 1966	Labour		Harold Wilson
	Richard Crossman				11 August 1966 – 18 October 1968
	Fred Peart				18 October 1968 – 19 June 1970
	Willie Whitelaw	75px			20 June 1970 – 7 April 1972	Conservative		Edward Heath
	Robert Carr	75px			7 April – 5 November 1972
	Jim Prior				5 November 1972 – 4 March 1974
	Edward Short				5 March 1974 – 8 April 1976	Labour		Harold Wilson
	Michael Foot				8 April 1976 – 4 May 1979			James Callaghan
	Christopher Soames, Baron Soames			Leader of the House of Lords	5 May 1979 – 14 September 1981	Conservative		Margaret Thatcher
	Francis Pym	75px		Leader of the House of Commons	14 September 1981 – 7 April 1982
	John Biffen				7 April 1982 – 11 June 1983
	Willie Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw	75px		Deputy Prime Minister Leader of the House of Lords	11 June 1983 – 10 January 1988
	John Wakeham			Leader of the House of Commons	10 January 1988 – 24 July 1989
	Geoffrey Howe			Deputy Prime Minister Leader of the House of Commons	24 July 1989 – 1 November 1990
	John MacGregor			Leader of the House of Commons	2 November 1990 – 10 April 1992
								John Major
	Tony Newton				10 April 1992 – 2 May 1997
	Ann Taylor				3 May 1997 – 27 July 1998	Labour		Tony Blair
	Margaret Beckett	75px			27 July 1998 – 8 June 2001

21st century

Name		Portrait	Concurrent title(s)		Tenure	Political party	Prime Minister
	Robin Cook	75px		Leader of the House of Commons	8 June 2001 – 18 March 2003	Labour		Tony Blair
	John Reid				4 April 2003 – 13 June 2003
	Gareth Williams, Baron Williams of Mostyn			Leader of the House of Lords	13 June 2003 – 20 September 2003
	Valerie Amos, Baroness Amos	75px			6 October 2003 – 27 June 2007
	Catherine Ashton, Baroness Ashton of Upholland				28 June 2007 – 3 October 2008			Gordon Brown
	Janet Royall, Baroness Royall of Blaisdon				3 October 2008 – 5 June 2009
	Peter Mandelson, Baron Mandelson		First Secretary of State Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills		5 June 2009 – 11 May 2010
	Nick Clegg		Deputy Prime Minister (with special responsibility for political and constitutional reform)		11 May 2010 – 8 May 2015	Liberal Democrat		David Cameron (Coalition)
	Chris Grayling			Leader of the House of Commons	9 May 2015 – present	Conservative		David Cameron

See also

• Privy Council Office
• Vice-President of the Executive Council
• President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada
• Sinecure