Who is the longest and shortest-ruling UK prime minister and how long did they have the role for?
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Boris Johnson’s resignation in July put him among the top five shortest serving prime ministers in the post-war period.
Current PM Liz Truss sacked her chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, on Friday October 14, making him the second-shortest post-war chancellor, lasting just 38 days in the role. The only person to have held the post for less time than Kwarteng is Iain Macleod, who died just 30 days after taking office.
Ms Truss has held the position of prime minister for 38 days, as of 14 October.
Theresa May, who became prime minister in 2016, served for three years and 12 days before her resignation after parliament’s repeated rejection of her Brexit negotiations.
The shortest-serving prime minister in UK history was George Canning who held office for only 119 days (under four months) in 1827 before his death.
Robert Walpole was the longest-serving prime minister who held office for nearly 21 years from 1721 to 1742.
Since 1937, the average length of a prime minister to serve is five years. The last PM to serve more than five years was David Cameron who held the position from 2010 to 2016.
Below is the full list of post-war prime ministers in order of how long they remained in the top job.
Post-war PMs – who lasted the longest in the top job?
Alec Douglas-Home: 1963-64 – 364 days
Anthony Eden: 1955-57 – 1 year and 279 days
Gordon Brown: 2007-10 – 2 years and 319 days
Boris Johnson: 2019–22 – 2 years and 362 days
Theresa May: 2016-19 – 3 years and 12 days
James Callaghan: 1976-79 – 3 years and 30 days
Winston Churchill: 1951-55 – 3 years and 162 days
Edward Heath: 1970-74 – 3 years and 259 days
Harold Wilson: 1974-76 – 2 years and 247 days
David Cameron: 2010-16 – 6 years and 64 days
Clement Attlee: 1945-51 – 6 years and 93 days
John Major: 1990-97 – 6 years and 156 days
Harold Macmillan: 1957-63 – 6 years and 282 days
Tony Blair: 1997-2007 – 10 years and 57 days
Margaret Thatcher: 1979-90 – 11 years and 209 days
