Past Prime Ministers

William Cavendish-Bentinck Duke of Portland

Whig 1783 to 1783, 1807 to 1809

“My fears are not that the attempt to perform this duty will shorten my life, but that I shall neither bodily nor mentally perform it as I should.”


William Cavendish-Bentinck Duke of Portland

Born

14 April 1738

Died

30 October 1809, Bulstrode, Buckinghamshire

Dates in office

1783 to 1783, 1807 to 1809

Political party

Whig

Major acts

Treaty of Paris 1783: formal end to American War of Independence.

Biography

The Duke of Portland always thought of himself as a Whig. However he was an important figure in a realignment of British politics which laid the foundation of Tory government in the early nineteenth century. This gave him a significance far greater than his 2 brief spells as prime minister would suggest.

Read more about William Cavendish-Bentinck, Duke of Portland on the History of government blog.