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On 20 November 1990, Thatcher failed to win outright on the first ballot of the Conservative party leadership challenge, against Micheal Heseltine. The contest then went to a second ballot (on November 27th) in which Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd and Chancellor of the Exchequer John Major joined in. Major received 185 votes and was technically a few votes short of a clear victory, however Heseltine and Hurd withdrew from the contest in Major's favour. It was therefore announced that Major was elected unopposed as Leader of the Conservative Party on November 27, 1990. He was summoned to Buckingham Palace to become Prime Minister on November 28th 1990, succeeding Thatcher who had held the post since May 1979.

Major had held three cabinet posts before the premiership. He entered the cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury in June 1987. In July 1989 he was promoted to Foreign Secretary, but spent only 3 months in the job before becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer in October 1989.

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