The Earl of Rosebery | |
|---|---|
 Lord Rosebery in 1909 | |
| Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | |
| In office 5 March 1894 – 22 June 1895 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Preceded by | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Succeeded by | The Marquess of Salisbury |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 22 June 1895 – 6 October 1896 | |
| Prime Minister | The Marquess of Salisbury |
| Preceded by | The Marquess of Salisbury |
| Succeeded by | Sir William Harcourt |
| Lord President of the Council | |
| In office 10 March 1894 – 21 June 1895 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Kimberley |
| Succeeded by | The Duke of Devonshire |
| Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 18 August 1892 – 10 March 1894 | |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Preceded by | The Marquess of Salisbury |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Kimberley |
| In office 6 February 1886 – 3 August 1886 | |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Preceded by | The Marquess of Salisbury |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Iddesleigh |
| Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal | |
| In office 5 March 1885 – 9 June 1885 | |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Preceded by | The Lord Carlingford |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Harrowby |
| First Commissioner of Works | |
| In office 13 February 1885 – 9 June 1885 | |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Preceded by | George Shaw-Lefevre |
| Succeeded by | David Plunket |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department | |
| In office August 1881 – June 1883 | |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Preceded by | Leonard Courtney |
| Succeeded by | J. T. Hibbert |
| Member of the House of Lords | |
| Hereditary peerage 7 May 1868 – 21 May 1929 | |
| Preceded by | The 4th Earl of Rosebery |
| Succeeded by | The 6th Earl of Rosebery |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Archibald Philip Primrose 7 May 1847 Mayfair, Middlesex, England |
| Died | 21 May 1929 (aged 82) Epsom, Surrey, England |
| Resting place | Dalmeny Parish Church, Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse | |
| Children | |
| Parents | |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
| Signature |  |
Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian KG KT PC FRS FBA (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of his father, in 1851, and the death of his grandfather, the 4th Earl of Rosebery, in 1868, he was known by the courtesy title of Lord Dalmeny.
Rosebery first came to national attention in 1879 by sponsoring the successful Midlothian campaign of William Ewart Gladstone. He briefly was in charge of Scottish affairs. His most successful performance in office came as chairman of the London County Council in 1889. He entered the cabinet in 1885 and served twice as foreign minister, paying special attention to French and German affairs. He succeeded Gladstone as prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party in 1894; the Liberals lost the 1895 election. He resigned the party leadership in 1896 and never again held political office.
Rosebery was widely known as a brilliant orator, an outstanding sportsman and marksman, a writer and historian, connoisseur and collector. All of these activities attracted him more than politics, which grew boring and unattractive. Furthermore, he drifted to the right of the Liberal party and became a bitter critic of its policies. Winston Churchill, observing that he never adapted to democratic electoral competition, quipped: "He would not stoop; he did not conquer."[1]
Rosebery was a Liberal Imperialist who favoured strong national defence and imperialism abroad and social reform at home, while being solidly anti-socialist. Historians judge him a failure as foreign minister[2] and as prime minister.[3][4]
- ^ Lawrence, Jon (2009). Electing Our Masters : The Hustings in British Politics from Hogarth to Blair. Oxford UP. p. 1. ISBN 9780191567766.
- ^ Martel, Gordon (1986). Imperial Diplomacy: Rosebery and the Failure of Foreign Policy. McGill-Queen's UP. ISBN 9780773504424.
- ^ Peter Stansky, Ambitions and Strategies: The Struggle for the Leadership of the Liberal Party in the 1890s (1964).
- ^ Robert Rhodes James, Rosebery: a biography of Archibald Philip, fifth earl of Rosebery (1963).