Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole is generally reckoned the first British prime minister, holding office for twenty-one years. Born in Norfolk in 1676 into a gentry family, he was intended for the church and inherited the estate when his elder brothers died. He entered parliament in 1701 as a Whig. He rose fast, became Secretary at War, and in 1712 was impeached by the Tory ministry for corruption over forage contracts, expelled from the Commons and imprisoned in the Tower for six months — which made him a party martyr and did his career no harm. His opportunity came from the South Sea Bubble. The company had taken on the national debt in exchange for trading rights, its shares rose roughly tenfold in 1720 and collapsed, ruining thousands and implicating ministers and the court. Walpole had warned against the scheme and had, by luck, sold near the top. He was brought in to manage the aftermath, protected the king and the royal mistresses from exposure, and restored confidence — for which he was called the Screenmaster General. He became First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1721 and governed until 1742. He kept taxes low, avoided war for two decades, reduced the land tax, and managed the Commons through patronage, places and pensions on a systematic scale. He established that a minister must retain the confidence of the Commons, and he withdrew his own excise scheme in 1733 when it failed there. He accepted 10 Downing Street as an official residence rather than a personal gift. Public pressure forced him into war with Spain in 1739, and he resigned in 1742.
- Lived: 1676 CE – 1745 CE
- Nationality: English
- Roles: statesman, parliamentarian
