Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool

The Earl of Liverpool
Oil painting by Thomas Lawrence
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office
8 June 1812 – 9 April 1827
Monarchs
RegentGeorge, Prince Regent (1812–1820)
Preceded bySpencer Perceval
Succeeded byGeorge Canning
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
In office
1 November 1809 – 11 June 1812
Prime MinisterSpencer Perceval
Preceded byThe Viscount Castlereagh
Succeeded byThe Earl Bathurst
Leader of the House of Lords
In office
25 March 1807 – 9 April 1827
Prime Minister
Preceded byThe Lord Grenville
Succeeded byThe Viscount Goderich
In office
17 August 1803 – 5 February 1806
Prime Minister
Preceded byThe Lord Pelham
Succeeded byThe Lord Grenville
Home Secretary
In office
25 March 1807 – 1 November 1809
Prime MinisterThe Duke of Portland
Preceded byThe Earl Spencer
Succeeded byRichard Ryder
In office
12 May 1804 – 5 February 1806
Prime MinisterWilliam Pitt the Younger
Preceded byCharles Philip Yorke
Succeeded byThe Earl Spencer
Foreign Secretary
In office
20 February 1801 – 14 May 1804
Prime MinisterHenry Addington
Preceded byThe Lord Grenville
Succeeded byThe Lord Harrowby
Personal details
Born
Robert Banks Jenkinson

(1770-06-07)7 June 1770
London, England
Died4 December 1828(1828-12-04) (aged 58)
Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England
Resting placeHawkesbury Parish Church, Gloucestershire, England
Political partyTory
Spouses
(m. 1795; died 1821)
(m. 1822)
ParentCharles Jenkinson (father)
EducationCharterhouse School
Alma materChrist Church, Oxford
SignatureCursive signature in ink

Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, KG, PC, FRS (7 June 1770 – 4 December 1828) was a British Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827. Before becoming Prime Minister he had been Foreign Secretary, Home Secretary and Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. He held the constituency of Rye from 1790 until his elevation to the House of Lords in 1803, where he was Leader from 1807 to 1827.

Liverpool's fifteen years as Prime Minister saw the end of the Napoleonic Wars followed by a period of unrest and radicalism at home. During the first part of his premiership, repressive measures were taken to restore order at home, the Corn Laws were introduced and income tax was repealed. In the 1820s his leadership became more liberal and the period saw a reform of the criminal law and prisons. Throughout his tenure as Prime Minister, Liverpool sought a compromise over the issue of Catholic emancipation. He resigned following a stroke in February 1827. Important events during Liverpool's premiership included the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, the Congress of Vienna, the 1812-14 war with America, the Peterloo massacre, the Cato Street Conspiracy and the Queen Caroline affair.

Liverpool, known as Jenkinson until 1803 and as Hawkesbury from 1803 to 1808, was the son of Tory politician Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool. He was educated at Charterhouse School and Christ Church, Oxford. Twice married, he had no children and the earldom passed to his younger half-brother on his death.