Balfour, Arthur James

Arthur James Balfour was born on 25 July 1848 at Whittingehame, East Lothian. He was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge. He began his political career in 1874 when he was elected Conservative Member of Parliament for Hertford, and between 1878 and 1880, acted as private secretary to his uncle, the Marquis of Salisbury, who was then secretary of state for foreign affairs. In 1885, Balfour was elected Member of Parliament for the eastern division of Manchester, a seat he held until 1906. He was appointed secretary for Scotland and served as chief secretary of Ireland from 1887 to 1891 and first Lord of the Treasury and leader of the House of Commons from 1891 to 1892.

In 1902, Balfour succeeded his uncle as Prime Minister, an office he held until his resignation in 1905. After losing his Manchester seat in 1906, he was elected Member of Parliament for the City of London, and remained leader of the Conservative Party until 1911. In 1915, he returned to government when he accepted the post of first lord of the Admiralty in a coalition government. The following year he was appointed foreign secretary, issuing the Balfour Declaration in 1917 in favour of a Jewish national home in Palestine. He resigned in 1919, retaining a place in the cabinet as lord president of the council serving until 1922 and again from 1925 until 1929. In 1922, he was knighted and created first Earl of Balfour and Viscount Traprain of Whittingehame. He died on 19 March 1930 at Fisher's Hill near Woking.

From the guide to the Arthur Balfour polar correspondence collection, 1914, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)

Epithet: Prime Minister

Title: 1st Earl of Balfour

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000622.0x0001b5