Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury

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The Marquess of Salisbury
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Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 23 June 1885 – 28 January 1886 25 July 1886 – 11 August 1892 25 June 1895 – 11 July 1902
Preceded by	William Ewart Gladstone The Earl of Rosebery
Succeeded by	William Ewart Gladstone Arthur Balfour

Born	3 February 1830 Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Died	22 August 1903 Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Political party	Conservative

Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, KG, GCVO, PC (3 February 1830 – 22 August 1903), known as Lord Robert Cecil before 1865 and as Viscount Cranborne from 1865 until 1868, was a British statesman and Prime Minister on three occasions, for a total of over 13 years. He was the last British Prime Minister to hold office whilst a member of the House of Lords.

1 Life
2 Family
3 Lord Salisbury's First Government, July 1885–February 1886
- 3.1 Changes
4 Lord Salisbury's Second Government, August 1886–August 1892
- 4.1 Cabinet after the reorganization of January, 1887
- 4.2 Further Changes
5 Lord Salisbury's Third Government, June 1895–July 1902
- 5.1 Changes
6 Notes
7 Further reading

[edit] Life

Lord Robert Cecil was the second son of the 2nd Marquess of Salisbury. After an unhappy childhood, in which he was sent to Eton College, he went up to Christ Church, Oxford, and on taking his degree was elected a Fellow of All Souls College. He entered the House of Commons as a Conservative in 1853.

In 1857, Cecil married Georgina Alderson, a woman of lower social standing, over the objections of his father. The marriage proved a happy one and bore him five sons and two daughters. In 1866 Cecil, now Viscount Cranborne after the death of his older brother, entered the third government of Lord Derby as Secretary of State for India, but resigned the next year over the Reform Bill, which he opposed.

In 1868, on the death of his father, he inherited the Marquessate of Salisbury, thereby becoming a member of the House of Lords. From 1868 and 1871, he was chairman of the Great Eastern Railway, which was then experiencing losses. During his tenure, the company was taken out of chancery, and paid out a small dividend on its ordinary shares.

He returned to government in 1874, serving once again as India Secretary in the government of Benjamin Disraeli. Salisbury gradually developed a good relationship with Disraeli, whom he had previously disliked and distrusted. In 1878, Salisbury succeeded Lord Derby (son of the former Prime Minister) as Foreign Secretary in time to help lead Britain to "peace with honour" at the Congress of Berlin. For this he was rewarded with the Order of the Garter.

Following Disraeli's death in 1881, the Conservatives entered a period of turmoil. Salisbury became the leader of the Conservative members of the House of Lords, though the overall leadership of the party was not formally allocated. So he struggled with the Commons leader Sir Stafford Northcote, a struggle in which Salisbury eventually emerged as the leading figure. He became Prime Minister of a minority administration from 1885 to 1886. Although unable to accomplish much due to his lack of a parliamentary majority, the split of the Liberals over Irish Home Rule in 1886 enabled him to return to power with a majority, and, with a short break (1892–1895) to serve as Prime Minister from 1886 to 1902.

In 1889 Salisbury set up the London County Council and then in 1890 allowed it to build houses. However he came to regret this, saying in November 1894 that the LCC, "is the place where collectivist and socialistic experiments are tried. It is the place where a new revolutionary spirit finds its instruments and collects its arms".<ref>Andrew Roberts, Salisbury: Victorian Titan (Phoenix, 2000), p. 501.</ref>

Salisbury's expertise was in foreign affairs; for most of his time as Prime Minister he served not as First Lord of the Treasury, the traditional position held by the Prime Minister, but as Foreign Secretary. In that capacity, he skilfully managed Britain's foreign affairs, famously pursuing a policy of "Splendid Isolation". Among the important events of his premierships was the Partition of Africa, culminating in the Fashoda Crisis and the Second Boer War. While at home he sought to "fight Home Rule with kindness" by launching a land reform program which helped hundreds of thousands of Irish peasants gain land ownership.

On July 11, 1902, in failing health and broken hearted over the death of his wife, Salisbury resigned. He was succeeded by his nephew, Arthur James Balfour. Salisbury was the last peer to serve as Prime Minister, with the brief exception of the 14th Earl of Home who renounced his peerage within a few days of being appointed. Salisbury was twice offered a dukedom by Queen Victoria in 1886 and 1892, but declined both offers, citing the prohibitive cost of the lifestyle dukes were expected to maintain.

When Salisbury died his estate was probated at 310,336 pounds sterling. In 1900 Salisbury was worth £6.56 million, about £374 million in 2005.^{[citation needed]}

Salisbury is seen as an icon of traditional, aristocratic conservatism. The academic quarterly Salisbury Review was named in his honour upon its founding in 1982.

[edit] Family

Image:Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury - Project Gutenberg eText 13103.jpg Salisbury was the third son of James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury, a minor Tory politician. He went against his father's wishes and married Georgina Alderson, the daughter of Sir Edward Alderson, a moderately notable jurist. Robert and Georgina had eight children, all but one of whom survived infancy.

Lady Beatrix Cecil († 27 April 1950), married William Waldegrave Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne
Lady Gwendolen Cecil († 28 September 1945), author, seeming not to have married
Lady Fanny Cecil († 24 April 1867), died as infant
James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury (23 October 1861–4 April 1947)
Lord (Rupert Ernest) William Gascoyne-Cecil (9 March 1863–23 June 1936)
Edgar Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood (14 September 1864–24 November 1958)
Lord Edward Gascoyne-Cecil (12 July 1867–13 December 1918)
Hugh Richard Heathcote Gascoyne-Cecil, 1st Baron Quickswood (14 October 1869–10 December 1956)

The blatant favour Lord Salisbury showed towards his family in appointing them while he was in office is immortalised in the phrase "Bob's your uncle".

[edit] Lord Salisbury's First Government, July 1885–February 1886

[edit] Changes

August 1885 – The Duke of Richmond becomes Secretary for Scotland. Edward Stanhope succeeds him at the Board of Trade. Stanhope's successor as Vice President of the Council is not in the Cabinet.
January, 1886 – The Lord-Lieutenantship of Ireland is put into commission. William Henry Smith becomes Chief Secretary for Ireland. Lord Cranbrook succeeds him as Secretary for War, while remaining Lord President.

[edit] Lord Salisbury's Second Government, August 1886–August 1892

[edit] Cabinet after the reorganization of January, 1887

[edit] Further Changes

February 1888 – Sir Michael Hicks Beach succeeds Lord Stanley of Preston as President of the Board of Trade
1889 – Henry Chaplin enters the Cabinet as President of the Board of Agriculture.
October, 1891 – Arthur James Balfour succeeds William Henry Smith (deceased) as First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Commons. William Lawies Jackson succeeds him as Irish Secretary.

[edit] Lord Salisbury's Third Government, June 1895–July 1902

[edit] Changes

November, 1900 – Complete reorganization of the ministry:

[edit] Notes

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by: John Herries and Frederic Thesiger	Member for Stamford with Frederic Thesiger 1852-58, John Inglis 1858, Sir Stafford Northcote 1858-66, Sir John Dalrymple Hay, Bt 1866-80 1853–1868	Succeeded by: Sir John Dalrymple Hay, Bt and Viscount Ingestre
Political offices
Preceded by: The Earl of Ripon	Secretary of State for India 1866–1867	Succeeded by: Sir Stafford Northcote, Bt
Preceded by: The Duke of Argyll	Secretary of State for India 1874–1878	Succeeded by: The Viscount Cranbrook
Preceded by: The Earl of Derby	Foreign Secretary 1878–1880	Succeeded by: The Earl Granville
Preceded by: The Earl of Beaconsfield	Conservative Leader in the Lords 1881–1902	Succeeded by: The Duke of Devonshire
Preceded by: The Earl of Beaconsfield	Leader of the British Conservative Party 1881–1902 with Sir Stafford Northcote, Bt to 1885	Succeeded by: Arthur James Balfour
Preceded by: The Earl of Beaconsfield	Leader of the Opposition 1881–1885	Succeeded by: William Ewart Gladstone
Preceded by: William Ewart Gladstone	Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1885–1886	Succeeded by: William Ewart Gladstone
Preceded by: The Earl Granville	Foreign Secretary 1885–1886	Succeeded by: The Earl of Rosebery
Preceded by: The Earl Granville	Leader of the House of Lords 1885–1886	Succeeded by: The Earl Granville
Preceded by: William Ewart Gladstone	Leader of the Opposition 1886	Succeeded by: William Ewart Gladstone
Preceded by: William Ewart Gladstone	Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1886–1892	Succeeded by: William Ewart Gladstone
Preceded by: William Ewart Gladstone	First Lord of the Treasury 1886–1887	Succeeded by: William Henry Smith
Preceded by: The Earl Granville	Leader of the House of Lords 1886–1892	Succeeded by: The Earl of Kimberley
Preceded by: The Earl of Iddesleigh	Foreign Secretary 1887–1892	Succeeded by: The Earl of Rosebery
Preceded by: William Ewart Gladstone	Leader of the Opposition 1892–1895	Succeeded by: The Earl of Rosebery
Preceded by: The Earl of Rosebery	Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1895–1902	Succeeded by: Arthur James Balfour
Preceded by: The Earl of Rosebery	Leader of the House of Lords 1895–1902	Succeeded by: The Duke of Devonshire
Preceded by: The Earl of Kimberley	Foreign Secretary 1895–1900	Succeeded by: The Marquess of Lansdowne
Preceded by: The Marquess of Dufferin and Ava	Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports 1895–1903	Succeeded by: The Lord Curzon of Kedleston
Preceded by: The Viscount Cross	Lord Privy Seal 1900–1902	Succeeded by: Arthur Balfour
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by: James Gascoyne-Cecil	Marquess of Salisbury 1868–1903	Succeeded by: James Gascoyne-Cecil

[edit] Further reading

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Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury

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Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury

Andrew Roberts Salisbury: Victorian Titan (1999)

A. L. Kennedy: Salisbury 1830 - 1903, Portrait of a Statesman (1953)

Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom

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Walpole, Wilmington, Pelham, Newcastle, Devonshire, Newcastle, Bute, G Grenville, Rockingham, Chatham (Pitt the Elder), Grafton, North, Rockingham, Shelburne, Portland, Pitt the Younger, Addington, Pitt the Younger, W Grenville, Portland, Perceval, Liverpool, Canning, Goderich, Wellington, Grey, Melbourne, Peel, Melbourne, Peel, Russell, Derby, Aberdeen, Palmerston, Derby, Palmerston, Russell, Derby, Disraeli, Gladstone, Disraeli, Gladstone, Salisbury, Gladstone, Salisbury, Gladstone, Rosebery, Salisbury, Balfour, Campbell-Bannerman, Asquith, Lloyd George, Bonar Law, Baldwin, MacDonald, Baldwin, MacDonald, Baldwin, Chamberlain, Churchill, Attlee, Churchill, Eden, Macmillan, Douglas-Home, Wilson, Heath, Wilson, Callaghan, Thatcher, Major, Blair

Leaders of the Conservative Party
The Duke of Wellington, Sir Robert Peel, The Earl of Derby, Benjamin Disraeli, The Marquess of Salisbury, Arthur Balfour, Andrew Bonar Law, Stanley Baldwin, Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden, Harold Macmillan, Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Edward Heath, Margaret Thatcher, John Major, William Hague, Iain Duncan Smith, Michael Howard, David Cameron