| Essential facts: Born:
25 July 1848 (Whittingehame, East Lothian,
Scotland)
Died: 19 March 1930 (Fisher's Hill, Woking,
Surrey)
Nickname: "Bloody Balfour"
Education: Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge
Family: Balfour was the eldest son and third of 8
children. He was unmarried.
Age at appointment: 53 years, 352 days
First entered Parliament: 30 January 1874
Maiden Speech: 10 August 1876 on Indian silver
currency
Total time as PM: 3 years, 145 days
Quotes:
"Democracy is government by
explanation"
"Nothing matters very much, and very
few things matter at all"
"Conservative prejudices are rooted in a great past
and Liberal ones in an imaginary future"
"I am more or less happy when being praised, not very
comfortable when being abused, but I have moments of uneasiness
when being explained"
Biography:
Arthur James Balfour succeeded his uncle,
Lord Salisbury, who had been his political mentor
and champion. However, his initial interests were not political.
He enjoyed music and poetry, and was first known as a renowned
philosopher, publishing "A Defence of Philosophic Doubt", "The
Foundations of Belief", and "Theism and Humanism".
In 1874 he was elected the Conservative Member of Parliament
for Hertford. Four years later he became private secretary to
Salisbury, then Foreign Secretary in
Disraeli's government, and accompanied them both to
the Congress of Berlin.
In 1885 Balfour was a member of Randolph Churchill's "Fourth
Party" group (distinct from the Conservatives, Libs and Irish
Nationalists), which brought down
Gladstone's
government with a motion opposing the Home Rule for Ireland
Bill.
Later, he joined the Cabinet as Secretary for Scotland and
then for Ireland under Salisbury. Despite widespread scepticism
that he was up to the gruelling job of Irish Secretary, Balfour
proved to be a tough incumbent, restoring the rule of law. His
land development legislation was considered well judged, and has
been credited with calming the Irish conflict for a generation.
In 1891 Balfour became First Lord of the Treasury and Leader
of the Commons, and gained the same positions again on the
Conservatives' re-election in 1895. When his uncle retired, he
himself became Prime Minister.
| His principal concerns
were education and defence. There was, he believed, "no
more serious waste than the waste of brains and
intellect". He gave local authorities responsibility for
elementary education, and set up the Committee for
Imperial Defence to ensure readiness for future wars. |
Arthur James Balfour in 1892
|
But his cabinet split on the free trade issue, and his relations
with the king were poor. Defeats in the Commons and in
by-elections led to his resignation in December 1905. In the
subsequent Liberal landslide, Balfour lost his own seat, but
returned via a by-election soon after. He continued to lead his
party until 1911.
But despite stepping down, his career was far from over. He
became First Lord of the Admiralty in the wartime coalition, and
then Foreign Secretary. At this time he wrote the Balfour
Declaration of "a recognition of the right to a Jewish state in
Palestine". For the greater part of the 1920s he was Lord
President of the Council until the
Baldwin government fell in 1929. He died the
following year. |
