Political Leaders of the United Kingdom

Leaders of the United Kingdom
(United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)

Kings

George VI      12 Dec 1936 -  6 Feb 1952 (+)
Elizabeth II    6 Feb 1952 -

Prime Ministers

Winston Spencer Churchill      10 May 1940 - 26 Jul 1945 (+1965) Conservative
Clement Richard Attlee         26 Jul 1945 - 26 Oct 1951 (+1967) Labour
Winston Spencer Churchill      26 Oct 1951 -  6 Apr 1955 (+1965) Conservative
(Robert) Anthony Eden           6 Apr 1955 - 10 Jan 1957 (+1977) Conservative
(Maurice) Harold Macmillan     10 Jan 1957 - 19 Oct 1963 (+1986) Conservative
Alexander (Alec) Douglas-Home  19 Oct 1963 - 16 Oct 1964 (+1995) Conservative
(James) Harold Wilson          16 Oct 1964 - 23 Jun 1970 (+1995) Labour
Edward Richard George Heath    23 Jun 1970 -  4 Mar 1974         Conservative
(James) Harold Wilson           4 Mar 1974 -  5 Apr 1976 (+1995) Labour
(Leonard) James Callaghan       5 Apr 1976 -  4 May 1979         Labour
Margaret Hilda Thatcher         4 May 1979 - 28 Nov 1990         Conservative
John Roy Major                 28 Nov 1990 -  2 May 1997         Conservative
Anthony C. L. (Tony) Blair      2 May 1997 -  27 Jun 2007        Labour
Gordon Brown          	       27 Jun 2007 -                     Labour

Chancellors of the Exchequer

John Anderson                  1943-1945 (+1958)
Hugh Dalton                    1945-1947 (+1962) Labour
Stafford Cripps                1947-1950 (+1952) Labour
Hugh Gaitskell                 1950-1951 (+1963) Labour
Richard Austen Butler          1951-1955 (+1982) Conservative
(Maurice) Harold Macmillan     1955-1957 (+1986) Conservative
Peter Thorneycroft             1957-1958 (+1994) Conservative
Derick Heathcoat Amory         1958-1960 (+1981) Conservative
Selwyn Lloyd                   1960-1962 (+1978) Conservative
Reginald Maudling              1962-1964 (+1979) Conservative
(Leonard) James Callaghan      1964-1967         Labour
Roy Harris Jenkins             1967-1970 (+2003) Labour 
Iain Macleod                   1970      (+)     Conservative
Anthony Barber                 1970-1974         Conservative
Denis Healey                   1974-1979         Labour 
(Richard Edward) Geoffrey Howe 1979-1983         Conservative
Nigel Lawson                   1983-1989         Conservative
John Roy Major                 1989-1990         Conservative
Norman Lamont                  1990-1993         Conservative
Kenneth Harry Clarke           1993-1997         Conservative
Gordon Brown                   1997-2007         Labour
Alistair Darling      	       2007-             Labour

Minister for Foreign Affairs

(Robert) Anthony Eden          1940-1945 (+1977) Conservative
Ernest Bevin                   1945-1951 (+1951) Labour              
Herbert Morrison               1951      (+1965) Labour
(Robert) Anthony Eden          1951-1955 (+1977) Conservative
(Maurice) Harold Macmillan     1955      (+1986) Conservative
Selwyn Lloyd                   1955-1960 (+1978) Conservative
Alexander (Alec) Douglas-Home  1960-1963 (+1995) Conservative
Richard Austen Butler          1963-1964 (+1982) Conservative
Patrick Walker                 1964-1965 (+1980) Labour
Michael Stewart                1965-1966 (+1990) Labour
George Brown                   1966-1968 (+1985) Labour
Michael Stewart                1968-1970 (+1990) Labour
Alexander (Alec) Douglas-Home  1970-1974 (+1995) Conservatie
(Leonard) James Callaghan      1974-1976         Labour 
Anthony Crosland               1976-1977 (+)     Labour 
David Owen                     1977-1979         Labour
Peter Alexander Carrington     1979-1982         Conservative
Francis Pym                    1982-1983         Conservative
(Richard Edward) Geoffrey Howe 1983-1989         Conservative 
John Roy Major                 1989              Conservative
Douglas Hurd                   1989-1995         Conservative
Malcolm Rifkind                1995-1997         Conservative
Robert Finlayson (Robin) Cook  1997-2001         Labour
John W. (Jack) Straw           2001- 2006        Labour 
Margaret Beckett      	       2006- 2007        Labour
David Miliband        	       2007-             Labour

Minister for the Defence

Winston Spencer Churchill      1940-1945 (+1965) Conservative
Clement Richard Attlee         1945-1946 (+1967) Labour
Albert Victor Alexander        1946-1950 (+1965) Labour  
Emanuel Shinwell               1950-1951 (+1986) Labour
Winston Spencer Churchill      1951-1952 (+1965) Conservative 
Harold R. L. G. Alexander      1952-1954 (+1969) military
(Maurice) Harold Macmillan     1954-1955 (+1986) Conservative
Selwyn Lloyd                   1955-1955 (+1978) Conservative
Walter Monckton                1955-1956 (+1965) Conservative
Antony Head                    1956-1957 (+1983) Conservative
Duncan Duncan-Sandys           1957-1959 (+1987) Conservative
Harold Watkinson               1959-1962 (+1995) Conservative
Peter Thorneycroft             1962-1964 (+1994) Conservative
Denis Healey                   1964-1970         Labour
Peter Alexander Carrington     1970-1974         Conservative
Ian Gilmour                    1974              Conservative
Roy Mason                      1974-1976         Labour
Frederick Mulley               1976-1979 (+1995) Labour 
Francis Pym                    1979-1981         Conservative 
John Nott                      1981-1983         Conservative  
Michael Heseltine              1983-1986         Conservative
George Younger                 1986-1989 (+2003) Conservative
Thomas (Tom) King              1989-1992         Conservative
Malcolm Rifkind                1992-1995         Conservative
Michael Portillo               1992-1997         Conservative
George Robertson               1997-1999         Labour
Geoffrey Hoon                  1999-2005         Labour
John Reid             	       2005-2006         Labour
Des Browne                     2006-             Labour

Minister for the Home Department

Herbert Morrison               1940-1945 (+1965) Labour
Donald Bradley Somervell       1945      (+1960)
James Chuter Ede               1945-1951 (+1965) Labour
David Patrick Maxwell Fyfe     1951-1954 (+1967) Conservative
Gwilym Lloyd-George            1954-1957 (+1967) Conservative
Richard Austen Butler          1957-1962 (+1982) Conservative
Henry Brooke                   1962-1964 (+1984) Conservative
Frank Soskice                  1964-1965 (+1979) Labour
Roy Harris Jenkins             1965-1967 (+2003) Labour  
(Leonard) James Callaghan      1967-1970         Labour
Reginald Maudling              1970-1972 (+1979) Conservative
Leonard Robert Carr            1972-1974         Conservative 
Roy Harris Jenkins             1974-1976 (+2003) Labour
Merlyn Rees                    1976-1979         Labour
William Stephen Ian Whitelaw   1979-1983 (+1999) Conservative
Leon Brittan                   1983-1985         Conservative
Douglas Hurd                   1985-1989         Conservative 
David Waddington               1989-1990         Conservative
Kenneth Baker                  1990-1992         Conservative
Kenneth Harry Clarke           1992-1993         Conservative
Michael Howard                 1993-1997         Conservative
John W. (Jack) Straw           1997-2001         Labour
David Blunkett                 2001-2004	 Labour
Charles Clarke        	       2004-2006         Labour
John Reid             	       2006-             Labour
Jacqui Smith          	       2007-             Labour

Leaders of the Labour Party

Clement Richard Attlee         1935-1955 (+1967)
Hugh Gaitskell                 1955-1963 (+)
(James) Harold Wilson          1963-1976 (+1995)
(Leonard) James Callaghan      1976-1980
Michael Foot                   1980-1983
Neil Kinnock                   1983-1992
John Smith                     1992-1994 (+)
Anthony C. L. (Tony) Blair     1994-2007
Gordon Brown          	       2007-

Leaders of the Conservative Party

Winston Spencer Churchill      1940-1955 (+1965)
(Robert) Anthony Eden          1955-1957 (+1977)
(Maurice) Harold Macmillan     1957-1963 (+1986)
Alexander (Alec) Douglas-Home  1963-1965 (+1995)
Edward Richard George Heath    1965-1975
Margaret Hilda Thatcher        1975-1990
John Roy Major                 1990-1997
William Hague                  1997-2001
Iain Duncan Smith              2001-2003
Michael Howard        	       2003-2005
David Cameron         	       2005-

Leaders of the Liberal Democrats

Clement Davies                 1945-1956 (+1962) 
Joseph (Jo) Grimond            1956-1967 (+1993) 
Jeremy Thorpe                  1967-1976 
David Steel                    1976-1988
Jeremy J. D. (Paddy) Ashdown   1988-1999         
Charles Kennedy                1999-2006
Menzies Campbell     	       2006-

Called Liberal Party (LP) to 1988, when merged with the SDP (see below) to form the Social and Liberal Democrats (SLD). In 1989 the party adopted the name of Liberal Democrats (LD), sometimes referred as Liberal Democratic Party.

Leaders of the Social Democratic Party (1982-1988)

Roy Harris Jenkins             1982-1983 (+2003)
David Owen                     1983-1987
Robert Maclennan               1987-1988

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) was founded in 1982 by splinters of the Labour Party. In 1988 it merged with the Liberal Party to form the SLD (see above).