lord president of the council

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lord president of the council. A regular member of the cabinet for much the same reasons as the lord privy seal—it is useful to the prime minister to have ministers whose duties are small and who can be asked to undertake special responsibilities or fill the role of elder statesmen. The office originated in Tudor times when the Privy Council was evolving from the medieval council. The earliest certain holder of the post was the duke of Suffolk, brother-in-law to Henry VIII, from 1530. An Act of 1529, 21 Hen. VIII c. 20, gave the president precedence below the treasurer and the chancellor but above the lord privy seal. The lord president's responsibilities are now residual. Lord Harrowby held the post for a remarkable fifteen years 1812–27; Balfour held it 1919–22 and 1925–9, and Stanley Baldwin 1931–5.

J. A. Cannon

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