Leader of the House of Lords
Leader of the House of Lords is a function in the British government that is always held in combination with a formal Cabinet position, most often Lord Privy Seal or Lord President of the Council.The Leader of the House of Lords takes charge of the government's business in the House, and has some responsibility for determining the order of speakers.
Unless (very rarely) the Leader is also a departmental minister, being Leader constitutes the bulk of his government responsibilities, but it has never been an independent salaried office. As an official position, the Leadership is of comparatively recent origin, although there has been a government minister in charge of the government's business in the Lords since at least the 18th century. Prime Ministers who sat in the Lords usually carried out its duties personally. The first female Leader of the Lords was Baroness Young in 1981-1983.
Leaders of the House of Lords
incomplete- Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend 1721-1730
- ? 1730-1742
- John Carteret, 2nd Lord Carteret 1742-1744
- Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle 1744-1756
- William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire 1756-1757
- Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle 1757-1762
- John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute 1762-1763
- ? 1763-1765
- Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham 1765-1766
- Augustus Henry Fitzroy, 3rd Duke of Grafton 1766-1770
- ? 1770-1782
- Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham 1782
- William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne 1782-1783
- William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland 1783
- ? 1783-1790
- William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Lord Grenville 1790-1801
- ? 1801-1803
- Robert Banks Jenkinson, Lord Hawkesbury 1803-1806
- William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Lord Grenville 1806-1807
- Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool 1807-1827
- Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich 1827-1828
- Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington 1828-1830
- Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey 1830-1834
- William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne 1834
- Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington 1834-1835
- William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne 1835-1841
- Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington 1841-1846
- Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne 1846-1852
- Edward Geoffrey Smith Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby 1852
- George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen 1852-1855
- Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville 1855-1858
- Edward Geoffrey Smith Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby 1858-1859
- Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville 1859-1865
- John Russell, 1st Earl Russell 1865-1866
- Edward Geoffrey Smith Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby 1866-1868
- ? 1868
- Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville 1868-1874
- ? 1874-1876
- Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield 1876-1880
- Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville 1880-1885
- Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury 1885-1886
- Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville 1886
- Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury 1886-1892
- John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley 1892-1894
- Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery 1894-1895
- Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury 1895-1902
- Spencer Compton Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire 1902-1903
- Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne 1903-1905
- George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon 1905-1908
- Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Earl of Crewe 1908-1916
- George Nathaniel Curzon, Earl Curzon of Kedleston (Marquess from 1921) 1916-1924
- Charles Cripps, 1st Lord Parmoor 1924
- George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston 1924-1925
- Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour 1925-1929
- Charles Cripps, 1st Lord Parmoor 1929-1931
- ? 1931-1935
- Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 3rd Viscount Halifax 1935-1938
- ? 1938-1940
- Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 3rd Viscount Halifax 1940
- ? 1940-1941
- Walter Edward Guinness, Lord Moyne 1941-1942
- Robert Arthur James Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne 1942-1945
- Christopher Addison, 1st Viscount Addison 1945-1951
- Robert Arthur James Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury 1951-1957
- Alexander Douglas-Home, 14th Earl of Home 1957-1960
- Quintin McGarel Hogg, 2nd Viscount Hailsham 1960-1963
- Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington 1963-1964
- Frank Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford 1964-1968
- Edward Shackleton, Lord Shackleton 1968-1970
- George Jellicoe, 2nd Earl Jellicoe 1970-1972
- David Hennessy, 3rd Lord Windlesham 1972-1974
- Malcolm Shepherd, 2nd Lord Shepherd 1974-1976
- Fred Peart, Lord Peart of Workington 1976-1979
- Arthur Christopher Soames, Lord Soames 1979-1981
- Janet Young, Baroness Young of Farnworth 1981-1983
- William Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw of Penrith 1983-1988
- John Julian Galzoni, 2nd Lord Belstead 1988-1990
- David Waddington, Lord Waddington of Read 1990-1992
- John Wakeham, Lord Wakeham of Maldon 1992-1994
- Robert Michael James Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne 1994-1997
- Ivor Richard, Lord Richard of Ammanford 1997-1998
- Margaret Jay, Baroness Jay of Paddington 1998-2001
- Gareth Wyn Williams, Lord Williams of Mostyn 2001-2003
- Valerie Ann Amos, Baroness Amos 2003 onwards


