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Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Political People

   The Marquess of Salisbury
   Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
     __________________________________________________________________

   Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
   In office
   23 June 1885 –  28 January 1886
   Monarch Victoria
   Preceded by William Ewart Gladstone
   Succeeded by William Ewart Gladstone
   In office
   25 July 1886 –  11 August 1892
   Monarch Victoria
   Preceded by William Ewart Gladstone
   Succeeded by William Ewart Gladstone
   In office
   25 June 1895 –  11 July 1902
   Monarch Victoria
   Edward VII
   Preceded by The Earl of Rosebery
   Succeeded by Arthur Balfour
     __________________________________________________________________

   Born 3 February 1830
   Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England
   Died 22 August 1903 (age 73)
   Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England
   Political party Conservative
   Alma mater Christ Church, Oxford

   Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, KG,
   GCVO, PC ( 3 February 1830 – 22 August 1903), known as Lord Robert
   Cecil before 1865 and as Viscount Cranborne from 1865 until 1868, was a
   British statesman and Prime Minister on three occasions, for a total of
   over 13 years. He was the first British Prime Minister of the 20th
   century.

Life

   Lord Robert Cecil was the second son of the 2nd Marquess of Salisbury.
   After an unhappy childhood, in which he was sent to Eton College, he
   went up to Christ Church, Oxford, and on taking his degree was elected
   a Fellow of All Souls College. He entered the House of Commons as a
   Conservative in 1853.

   In 1857, Cecil married Georgina Alderson, a woman of lower social
   standing, over the objections of his father. The marriage proved a
   happy one and bore him five sons and two daughters. In 1866 Cecil, now
   Viscount Cranborne after the death of his older brother, entered the
   third government of Lord Derby as Secretary of State for India, but
   resigned the next year over the Reform Bill, which he opposed.

   In 1868, on the death of his father, he inherited the Marquessate of
   Salisbury, thereby becoming a member of the House of Lords. From 1868
   and 1871, he was chairman of the Great Eastern Railway, which was then
   experiencing losses. During his tenure, the company was taken out of
   chancery, and paid out a small dividend on its ordinary shares.

   He returned to government in 1874, serving once again as India
   Secretary in the government of Benjamin Disraeli. Salisbury gradually
   developed a good relationship with Disraeli, whom he had previously
   disliked and distrusted. In 1878, Salisbury succeeded Lord Derby (son
   of the former Prime Minister) as Foreign Secretary in time to help lead
   Britain to "peace with honour" at the Congress of Berlin. For this he
   was rewarded with the Order of the Garter.

   Following Disraeli's death in 1881, the Conservatives entered a period
   of turmoil. Salisbury became the leader of the Conservative members of
   the House of Lords, though the overall leadership of the party was not
   formally allocated. So he struggled with the Commons leader Sir
   Stafford Northcote, a struggle in which Salisbury eventually emerged as
   the leading figure. He became Prime Minister of a minority
   administration from 1885 to 1886. Although unable to accomplish much
   due to his lack of a parliamentary majority, the split of the Liberals
   over Irish Home Rule in 1886 enabled him to return to power with a
   majority, and, with a short break (1892–1895) to serve as Prime
   Minister from 1886 to 1902.

   In 1889 Salisbury set up the London County Council and then in 1890
   allowed it to build houses. However he came to regret this, saying in
   November 1894 that the LCC, "is the place where collectivist and
   socialistic experiments are tried. It is the place where a new
   revolutionary spirit finds its instruments and collects its arms".

   Also in 1889 Salisbury's Government passed the Naval Defence Act 1889
   which facilitated the spending of an extra £20 million on the Royal
   Navy over the following four years. This was the biggest ever expansion
   of the navy in peacetime: ten new battleships, thirty-eight new
   cruisers, eighteen new torpedo boats and four new fast gunboats.
   Traditionally (since the Battle of Trafalgar) Britain had possessed a
   navy one-third larger than their nearest naval rival but now the Royal
   Navy was set to the Two-Power Standard; that it would be maintained "to
   a standard of strength equivalent to that of the combined forces of the
   next two biggest navies in the world". This was aimed at France and
   Russia.

   Salisbury's expertise was in foreign affairs; for most of his time as
   Prime Minister he served not as First Lord of the Treasury, the
   traditional position held by the Prime Minister, but as Foreign
   Secretary. In that capacity, he skilfully managed Britain's foreign
   affairs, famously pursuing a policy of " Splendid Isolation". Among the
   important events of his premierships was the Partition of Africa,
   culminating in the Fashoda Crisis and the Second Boer War. While at
   home he sought to "fight Home Rule with kindness" by launching a land
   reform programme which helped hundreds of thousands of Irish peasants
   gain land ownership.

   On 11 July 1902, in failing health and broken hearted over the death of
   his wife, Salisbury resigned. He was succeeded by his nephew, Arthur
   James Balfour. Salisbury was twice offered a dukedom by Queen Victoria
   in 1886 and 1892, but declined both offers, citing the prohibitive cost
   of the lifestyle dukes were expected to maintain.

   When Salisbury died his estate was probated at 310,336 pounds sterling.
   In 1900 Salisbury was worth £6.56 million, about £374 million in 2005.

Legacy

   Salisbury is seen as an icon of traditional, aristocratic conservatism.
   The academic quarterly Salisbury Review was named in his honour upon
   its founding in 1982.

   Clement Attlee (Prime Minister, 1945-1951) believed Salisbury to be the
   best Prime Minister of his lifetime.

Family

   Lord Salisbury
   Lord Salisbury

   Salisbury was the third son of James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of
   Salisbury, a minor Tory politician. He went against his father's wishes
   and married Georgina Alderson, the daughter of Sir Edward Alderson, a
   moderately notable jurist. Robert and Georgina had eight children, all
   but one of whom survived infancy.
     * Lady Beatrix Maud Gascoyne-Cecil († 27 April 1950), married William
       Waldegrave Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne
     * Lady Gwendolen (Gascoyne-)Cecil († 28 September 1945), author, and
       biographer of her father; she never married.
     * Lady Fanny Georgina Mildred Gascoyne-Cecil († 24 April 1867), died
       as infant
     * James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury ( 23 October 1861–
       4 April 1947)
     * Lord (Rupert Ernest) William (Gascoyne-)Cecil ( 9 March 1863– 23
       June 1936)
     * (Edgar Algernon) Robert (Gascoyne-)Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of
       Chelwood ( 14 September 1864– 24 November 1958)
     * Lord Edward (Gascoyne-)Cecil ( 12 July 1867– 13 December 1918)
     * Hugh Richard Heathcote (Gascoyne-)Cecil, 1st Baron Quickswood ( 14
       October 1869– 10 December 1956)

Lord Salisbury's First Government, July 1885–February 1886

   Image:Robert-Gascoyne-Cecil-arms.PNG
   Arms of Robert Gascoyne-Cecil
     * Lord Salisbury – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Leader
       of the House of Lords
     * Lord Iddesleigh – First Lord of the Treasury
     * Lord Halsbury – Lord Chancellor
     * Lord Cranbrook – Lord President of the Council
     * Lord Harrowby – Lord Privy Seal
     * Sir Richard Cross – Secretary of State for the Home Department
     * Sir Frederick Stanley – Secretary of State for the Colonies
     * William Henry Smith – Secretary of State for War
     * Lord Randolph Churchill – Secretary of State for India
     * Lord George Hamilton – First Lord of the Admiralty
     * Sir Michael Hicks Beach – Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of
       the House of Commons
     * The Duke of Richmond – President of the Board of Trade
     * Lord John Manners – Postmaster-General
     * Lord Carnarvon – Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
     * Lord Ashbourne – Lord Chancellor of Ireland
     * Edward Stanhope – Vice President of the Council

Changes

     * August 1885 – The Duke of Richmond becomes Secretary for Scotland.
       Edward Stanhope succeeds him at the Board of Trade. Stanhope's
       successor as Vice President of the Council is not in the Cabinet.
     * January, 1886 – The Lord Lieutenancy of Ireland is put into
       commission. William Henry Smith becomes Chief Secretary for
       Ireland. Lord Cranbrook succeeds him as Secretary for War, while
       remaining Lord President.

Lord Salisbury's Second Government, August 1886–August 1892

     * Lord Salisbury – First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House
       of Lords
     * Lord Halsbury – Lord Chancellor
     * Lord Cranbrook – Lord President of the Council
     * Lord Cadogan – Lord Privy Seal
     * Henry Matthews – Secretary of State for the Home Department
     * Lord Iddesleigh – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
     * Edward Stanhope – Secretary of State for the Colonies
     * William Henry Smith – Secretary of State for War
     * Lord Cross – Secretary of State for India
     * Lord George Hamilton – First Lord of the Admiralty
     * Lord Randolph Churchill – Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of
       the House of Commons
     * Lord Stanley of Preston – President of the Board of Trade
     * Lord John Manners – Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
     * Sir Michael Hicks Beach – Chief Secretary for Ireland
     * Arthur James Balfour – Secretary for Scotland

Cabinet after the reorganization of January 1887

     * Lord Salisbury – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Leader
       of the House of Lords
     * William Henry Smith – First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the
       House of Commons
     * Lord Halsbury – Lord Chancellor
     * Lord Cranbrook – Lord President of the Council
     * Lord Cadogan – Lord Privy Seal
     * Henry Matthews – Secretary of State for the Home Department
     * Sir Henry Holland – Secretary of State for the Colonies
     * Edward Stanhope – Secretary of State for War
     * Lord Cross – Secretary of State for India
     * Lord George Hamilton – First Lord of the Admiralty
     * George Goschen – Chancellor of the Exchequer
     * Lord Stanley of Preston – President of the Board of Trade
     * Lord John Manners – Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
     * Arthur James Balfour – Chief Secretary for Ireland
     * Charles Thomson Ritchie – President of the Local Government Board
     * Sir Michael Hicks Beach – Minister without Portfolio

Further Changes

     * February 1888 – Sir Michael Hicks Beach succeeds Lord Stanley of
       Preston as President of the Board of Trade
     * 1889 – Henry Chaplin enters the Cabinet as President of the Board
       of Agriculture.
     * October 1891 – Arthur James Balfour succeeds William Henry Smith
       (deceased) as First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of
       Commons. William Lawies Jackson succeeds him as Irish Secretary.

Lord Salisbury's Third Government, June 1895–July 1902

     * Lord Salisbury – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Leader
       of the House of Lords
     * Arthur James Balfour – First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the
       House of Commons
     * Lord Halsbury – Lord Chancellor
     * The Duke of Devonshire – Lord President of the Council
     * Lord Cross – Lord Privy Seal
     * Sir Matthew White Ridley – Secretary of State for the Home
       Department
     * Joseph Chamberlain – Secretary of State for the Colonies
     * Lord Lansdowne – Secretary of State for War
     * Lord George Hamilton – Secretary of State for India
     * George Joachim Goschen – First Lord of the Admiralty
     * Sir Michael Hicks Beach – Chancellor of the Exchequer
     * Charles Thomson Ritchie – President of the Board of Trade
     * Henry Chaplin – President of the Local Government Board
     * Lord James of Hereford – Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
     * Aretas Akers-Douglas – First Commissioner of Works
     * Lord Cadogan – Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland
     * Lord Ashbourne – Lord Chancellor of Ireland
     * Lord Balfour of Burleigh – Secretary for Scotland
     * Walter Hume Long – President of the Board of Agriculture

Changes

   November 1900 – Complete reorganization of the ministry:
     * Lord Salisbury – Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords
     * Arthur James Balfour – First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the
       House of Commons
     * Lord Halsbury – Lord Chancellor
     * The Duke of Devonshire – Lord President of the Council
     * Charles Thomson Ritchie – Secretary of State for the Home
       Department
     * Lord Lansdowne – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
     * Joseph Chamberlain – Secretary of State for the Colonies
     * William St John Brodrick – Secretary of State for War
     * Lord George Hamilton – Secretary of State for India
     * Lord Selborne – First Lord of the Admiralty
     * Sir Michael Hicks Beach – Chancellor of the Exchequer
     * Gerald William Balfour – President of the Board of Trade
     * Walter Hume Long – President of the Local Government Board
     * Lord James of Hereford – Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
     * Aretas Akers-Douglas – First Commissioner of Works
     * Lord Cadogan – Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland
     * Lord Ashbourne – Lord Chancellor of Ireland
     * Lord Balfour of Burleigh – Secretary for Scotland
     * Robert William Hanbury – President of the Board of Agriculture

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