Liz Truss has resigned as Prime Minister, she announced in a statement today , making her the shortest-serving leader in the UK’s history.
Truss stepped down following a tumultuous six-week premiership , after coming under fire following a series of U-turns over now-departed Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget. After Home Secretary Suella Braverman quit her post on Wednesday, the Conservative party appeared to be in disarray following a chaotic vote on fracking.
Not only is Truss the shortest-serving Prime Minister at just 45 days, she is also the only one to have lasted in the role for less than 100 days. The second-shortest serving PM was Tory George Canning, who spent 119 days as leader before his death in 1827.
READ MORE: What happens next as Liz Truss resigns as UK Prime Minister less than two months after taking charge
Truss is also one of just eight Prime Ministers who have departed the role within their first year. Fellow Conservatives Bonar Law and Sir Alec Douglas-Home are the only two other PMs within the last century who were in their position for under 365 days.
Truss’ predecessor Boris Johnson , by contrast, was Prime Minister for 3 years, 44 days, just beating former PM and the second female leader in the UK’s history Theresa May , who lasted 3 years, 11 days. David Cameron , meanwhile, spent 6 years, 63 days in Number 10.
The first female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher , was the longest-serving Prime Minister within the last 100 years and the seventh-longest in history, coming in at 11 years, 208 days. Whig Sir Robert Walpole currently holds the record at 20 years, 314 days until 1742.
Here’s a full list of all 56 Prime Ministers in the UK’s history, from the shortest-serving to the longest - with Prime Ministers from within the past century highlighted:
Liz Truss, Conservative - 45 days (Resigned)
George Canning, Tory - 119 days (Died)
The Viscount Goderich, Tory - 144 days (Replaced)
Bonar Law, Conservative - 211 days (Illness)
The Duke of Devonshire, Whig - 225 days (Replaced)
The Earl of Shelburne, Whig - 266 days (Replaced)
The Earl of Bute, Tory - 317 days (Resigned)
Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Conservative - 363 days (Election)
The Lord Grenville, Whig - 1 year, 42 days (Replaced)
The Duke of Grafton, Whig - 1 year, 106 days (Resigned)
The Earl of Roseberry, Liberal - 1 year, 109 days (Election)
The Marquess of Rockingham, Whig - 1 year, 113 days (Died)
The Earl of Wilmington, Whig - 1 year, 119 days (Died)
Sir Anthony Eden, Conservative - 1 year, 279 days (Illness)
The Earl of Aberdeen, Pelite - 2 years, 42 days (Resigned)
The Earl of Chatham, Whig - 2 years, 76 days (Illness)
George Grenville, Whig - 2 years, 85 days (Replaced)
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Liberal - 2 years, 122 days (Illness)
Spencer Perceval, Tory - 2 years, 221 days (Assassinated)
Gordon Brown, Labour - 2 years, 318 days (Election)
The Duke of Wellington, Tory - 2 years, 320 days (Replaced)
Neville Chamberlain, Conservative - 2 years, 348 days (Resigned)
Theresa May, Conservative - 3 years, 11 days (Resigned)
James Callaghan, Labour - 3 years, 29 days (Election)
Boris Johnson, Conservative - 3 years, 44 days (Resigned)
Henry Addington, Tory - 3 years, 54 days (Replaced)
The Duke of Portland, Whig/Tory - 3 years, 82 days (Illness)
Arthur Balfour, Conservative - 3 years, 145 days (Resigned)
The Earl Grey, Whig - 3 years, 229 days (Resigned)
Edward Heath, Conservative - 3 years, 259 days (Election)
The Earl of Derby, Conservative - 3 years, 280 days (Illness)
Sir Robert Peel, Conservative - 5 years, 57 days (Resigned)
David Lloyd George, Liberal - 5 years, 317 days (Resigned)
David Cameron, Conservative - 6 years, 63 days (Resigned)
Clement Attlee, Labour - 6 years, 92 days (Election)
Lord John Russell, Whig/Liberal - 6 years, 110 days (Election)
John Major, Conservative - 6 years, 155 days (Election)
The Viscount Melbourne, Whig - 6 years, 255 days (Resigned)
Harold Macmillan, Conservative - 6 years, 281 days (Resigned)
Ramsay MacDonald, Labour - 6 years, 289 days (Illness)
Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative - 6 years, 339 days (Election)
Stanley Baldwin, Conservative - 7 years, 82 days (Resigned)
The Duke of Newcastle, Whig - 7 years, 205 days (Replaced)
Harold Wilson, Labour - 7 years, 279 days (Resigned)
Sir Winston Churchill, Conservative - 8 years, 239 days (Illness)
H. H. Asquith, Liberal - 8 years, 244 days (Resigned)
The Viscount Palmerston, Whig/Liberal - 9 years, 141 days (Died)
Tony Blair, Labour - 10 years, 56 days (Resigned)
Henry Pelham, Whig - 10 years, 191 days (Died)
Margaret Thatcher, Conservative - 11 years, 208 days (Resigned)
Lord North, Tory - 12 years, 58 days (Resigned)
William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal - 12 years, 126 days (Resigned)
The Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative - 13 years, 252 days (Illness)
The Earl of Liverpool, Tory - 14 years, 305 days (Illness)
William Pitt the Younger, Tory - 18 years, 343 days (Died)
Sir Robert Walpole, Whig - 20 years, 314 days (Resigned)
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