Arthur Balfour
Arthur Balfour was a Conservative politician, member of the Parliament, and prime minister of the United Kingdom.
Contents
History
Balfour was the nephew of Gascoyne-Cecil, whom he served as a private secretary and protege in the Conservative Party. He was first elected to the House of Commons in 1874.
In 1886 his uncle appointed him to government as the secretary for Scotland, and in the following year he became the chief secretary for Scotland.
Balfour moved to the Treasury in 1891. He is the final first lord of the Treasury to not simultaneously lead the government.
His uncle resigned in 1902, leaving him to succeed leadership of the Conservatives and become prime minister. He inherited the issue of tariff reform, which would continue to fragment the Conservatives for over a decade.
He was forced to resign in December 1905 (largely due to the debate over tariff reform), leading to Campbell-Bannerman calling snap elections for the next month. He then lost his seat in the Parliament, although it was arranged for him to receive a safe seat in a by-election. He continued as the effective leader of the Conservatives until 1911.
During World War 1, Balfour returned to government as foreign secretary.
Following the 1922 Carlton Club meeting, a backbench revolt against continued participation in the coalition, he resigned from government. When the Conservatives won the ensuing election, he was not given a place in Law's government. He was however reappointed under Baldwin in 1925 and continued to serve until the 1929 election, which the Conservatives lost.
Balfour died the next year.