Sir William Harcourt | |
|---|---|
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| Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 6 October 1896 – 8 December 1898 | |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Rosebery |
| Succeeded by | Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
| In office 18 August 1892 – 21 June 1895 | |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone The Earl of Rosebery |
| Preceded by | George Goschen |
| Succeeded by | Sir Michael Hicks Beach, Bt |
| In office 6 February 1886 – 20 July 1886 | |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Preceded by | Sir Michael Hicks Beach, Bt |
| Succeeded by | Lord Randolph Churchill |
| Home Secretary | |
| In office 28 April 1880 – 23 June 1885 | |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Preceded by | R. A. Cross |
| Succeeded by | R. A. Cross |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 October 1827 |
| Died | 1 October 1904 (aged 76) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Maria Theresa Lister (d. 1863) (2) Elizabeth Cabot Motley (d. 1928) |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
Sir William George Granville Venables Vernon Harcourt, KC (14 October 1827 – 1 October 1904) was a British lawyer, journalist and Liberal statesman. He was Member of Parliament for Oxford, Derby then West Monmouthshire and held the offices of Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer under William Ewart Gladstone before becoming Leader of the Opposition. A talented speaker in parliament, he was sometimes regarded as aloof and possessing only an intellectual involvement in his causes. He failed to engender much emotional response in the public and became only a reluctant and disillusioned leader of his party.[1]
Historian Roy Jenkins says he was "too much of a party man. In manner and by origin he was a patrician figure, but he saw most issues exclusively in terms of parliamentary infighting… His views were usually much more of a reaction to what his political enemies, in the other party and in his own, were saying than the result of any objective thought. He inspired considerable loyalty among his followers – the Great Gladiator he was sometimes enthusiastically called – but his colleagues, partly as a result of his execrable temperament and his bullying… found him a difficult man with whom to work."[2]
- ^ Chisholm 1911, pp. 939–940
- ^ Roy Jenkins, "From Gladstone to Asquith: The Late Victorian Pattern of Liberal Leadership," History Today (July 1964) 14#7 pp 445-452 at page 446-447.