Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery (1847-1929), Prime Minister

Sitter in 19 portraits
A Whig aristocrat, Rosebery was twice Foreign Secretary, firstly in 1886 and then from 1892 to 1894. He succeeded William Gladstone as Prime Minister and served in this office from 1894 to 1895. His selection was seen largely as the consequence of Queen Victoria's dislike for most of the leading Liberals of the day. Rosebery's government is considered to have been fairly unsuccessful. His designs in foreign policy, such as expansion of the fleet, were defeated by disagreements within the Liberal Party, while the Tory-dominated House of Lords stopped the whole of the Liberals' domestic legislation.