Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
(b. Glasgow, 7 Sept. 1836; d. London, 28 Apr. 1908). British; leader of the Liberal Party 1900 – 8, Prime Minister 1905 – 8 Campbell-Bannerman ("CB") was the son of a lord provost of Glasgow and educated at Glasgow High School and at the universities of Glasgow and Cambridge. He then entered the family business and this wealth made him financially secure for the rest of his life. He won the seat of Stirling Burghs in 1868 for the Liberals and held it until his death forty years later. "CB" was the first incumbent to be given the official title of Prime Minister and was the last Prime Minister to die in office.
He held junior office under Gladstone (1871 – 4) and in Gladstone's second administration he was Chief Secretary for Ireland (1884 – 5), though without a Cabinet seat. In this post he had to face the full fury of the Irish Nationalist MPs. He then became Secretary of State for War in the short-lived 1886 government, and held the same post again during Gladstone's last spell of office (1892 – 4) and Lord Rosebery's (1895). His range of administrative experience was therefore rather limited.
For most of his career Campbell-Bannerman was not regarded as leadership material — more formidable figures were available. He was an indifferent parliamentary performer, although a steady administrator — seen by colleagues as a proverbial pair of safe hands. He was widely thought to be indolent, and he certainly liked long vacations. In the 1890s the Liberal Party was highly fractious and had already split in 1886 over Gladstone's advocacy of Home Rule (or self-government) for Ireland. Campbell-Bannerman followed Gladstone.
After Rosebery resigned the Liberal leadership at short notice in 1895, the party faced a vacuum. A number of fancied contenders disclaimed any interest in the succession and Asquith was thought to be too inexperienced. The post fell largely by default in 1899 to Campbell-Bannerman. He was widely seen as a temporary leader — until Rosebery returned. "CB" had a difficult task keeping the party together during the Boer War. A number of frontbench colleagues supported the war but he and Lloyd George opposed it. His task was eased and the Liberals unified when Chamberlain split the Conservative Party with his campaign for protection in 1903. An increasingly frustrated Prime Minister, A. J. Balfour resigned in December 1905 and Campbell-Bannerman was invited by the King to form the government. Balfour calculated that the Liberals would be too divided to govern effectively. The leading Liberals Grey, Asquith, and Haldane announced that they would not serve unless Campbell-Bannerman agreed to go to the House of Lords and not as only a nominal Prime Minister. He refused and they backed down. The new minority government lasted only a few weeks until he called an election in 1906, which the Liberals won by a landslide.
Campbell-Bannerman led what turned out to be a great reforming administration. It was a tribute to his skill that he kept so many talented colleagues together. His own role in directing the government was minimal; he took a limited view of his role. He was dogged by ill-health and died after two years in office. He was not a dynamic leader and adhered to traditional Liberal ideas of free trade, self-government, and social reform.






