I am always very glad when Lord Salisbury makes a great speech. It is sure to contain at least one blazing indiscretion which it is a delight to remember.
- The Earl of Morley, Speech at Hull, 25th November 1887.

Additional Information on
Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquis Salisbury (1830-1903)
Conservative Prime Minister 1885-1886, 1886-1892, 1895

Salisbury entered Parliament in 1853 as the member of the Conservative Party for Stamford. It would have been easy for his office to have been overshadowed by Gladstone's ministries, which ran either side of Salisbury's, and this may well have happened if it were not for Salisbury's expertise in foreign affairs. It soon became apparent that Salisbury excelled in this field, and before long he was appointed as Secretary of State for India. Salisbury succeeded his father as the Marquis of Salisbury in 1868, and was Indian Secretary again from 1874 to 1878 in Disraeli's administration.

In 1878 Salisbury was appointed as Foreign Secretary. Soon after, he accompanied Disraeli to the Congress of Berlin in which he played an instrumental part in securing 'Peace with Honour' in the Russo-Turkish War. He also acquired Cyprus for Great Britain.

On Disraeli's death in 1881, Salisbury became his successor as leader of the Conservatives in the House of Lords. His domestic policies made a favourable impression on Queen Victoria who, on Gladstone's resignation, asked Salisbury to form the next ministry. Salisbury became Prime Minister in 1885, combining the role with that of Foreign Secretary. His minority government lasted only seven months, and when the Liberals defeated the Conservatives in January 1886 Salisbury resigned. However, he became Prime Minister once again when Gladstone's ministry fell in the summer.

Salisbury's second ministry entered an alliance with The Liberal Unionists, and this strong administration lasted until 1892. In domestic affairs his ministry was responsible for introducing the Local Government Act of 1888, and the establishment of free education for all British citizens, 1891. However, Salisbury is best remembered for his success in foreign policy. In 1889 he secured British possession of part of Southern Africa, which was later named as the colony of Rhodesia. The following year he negotiated an agreement with Germany dividing East Africa into British and German territories.

In 1892 after Asquith moved a motion of 'no confidence' in Salisbury's government he resigned again, but in 1895 Salisbury became Prime Minister for the third time. The Conservative party triumphed over the Liberals, and Gladstone retired. Salisbury's main concern was to protect and expand the British Empire, for which he was loved by the Queen and the people. In 1899 he led Britain into the Boer War which in turn resulted in British control over South Africa. He remained Prime Minister until 1902 when, an exhausted old man, he handed in his resignation to King Edward VII. Salisbury died in August 1903.

QUOTATIONS

...that strange powerful inscrutable and brilliant obstructive dead-weight at the top.
- Lord Curzon, in Lord David Cecil, The Cecils of Hatfield House.