Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery

The Right Honourable The Earl of Rosebery KG KT PC FRS FBA
Lord Rosebery in 1909
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 5 March 1894 – 22 June 1895
Monarch	Victoria
Preceded by	William Ewart Gladstone
Succeeded by	The Marquess of Salisbury
Leader of the Opposition
In office 22 June 1895 – 6 October 1896
Prime Minister	The Marquess of Salisbury
Preceded by	The Marquess of Salisbury
Succeeded by	Sir William Harcourt
Lord President of the Council
In office 10 March 1894 – 21 June 1895
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	The Earl of Kimberley
Succeeded by	The Duke of Devonshire
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
In office 18 August 1892 – 10 March 1894
Prime Minister	William Ewart Gladstone
Preceded by	The Marquess of Salisbury
Succeeded by	The Earl of Kimberley
In office 6 February 1886 – 3 August 1886
Prime Minister	William Ewart Gladstone
Preceded by	The Marquess of Salisbury
Succeeded by	The Earl of Iddesleigh
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
In office 5 March 1885 – 9 June 1885
Prime Minister	William Ewart Gladstone
Preceded by	The Lord Carlingford
Succeeded by	The Earl of Harrowby
First Commissioner of Works
In office 13 February 1885 – 9 June 1885
Prime Minister	William Ewart Gladstone
Preceded by	George Shaw-Lefevre
Succeeded by	David Plunket
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department
In office August 1881 – June 1883
Prime Minister	William Ewart Gladstone
Preceded by	Leonard Courtney
Succeeded by	J. T. Hibbert
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Hereditary peerage 7 May 1868 – 21 May 1929
Preceded by	The 4th Earl of Rosebery
Succeeded by	The 6th Earl of Rosebery
Personal details
Born	Archibald Philip Primrose (1847-05-07)7 May 1847 Mayfair, Middlesex, England
Died	21 May 1929(1929-05-21) (aged 82) Epsom, Surrey, England
Resting place	Dalmeny Parish Church, Edinburgh, Scotland
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Hannah de Rothschild ​ ​ (m. 1878; died 1890)​
Children	Sybil Peggy Harry Neil
Parents	Archibald Primrose, Lord Dalmeny Wilhelmina Powlett, Duchess of Cleveland
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford
Signature

Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian KG KT PC FRS FBA (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of his father, in 1851, and the death of his grandfather, the 4th Earl of Rosebery, in 1868, he was known by the courtesy title of Lord Dalmeny.

Rosebery first came to national attention in 1879 by sponsoring the successful Midlothian campaign of William Ewart Gladstone. He briefly was in charge of Scottish affairs. His most successful performance in office came as chairman of the London County Council in 1889. He entered the cabinet in 1885 and served twice as foreign minister, paying special attention to French and German affairs. He succeeded Gladstone as prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party in 1894; the Liberals lost the 1895 election. He resigned the party leadership in 1896 and never again held political office.

Rosebery was widely known as a brilliant orator, an outstanding sportsman and marksman, a writer and historian, connoisseur and collector. All of these activities attracted him more than politics, which grew boring and unattractive. Furthermore, he drifted to the right of the Liberal party and became a bitter critic of its policies. Winston Churchill, observing that he never adapted to democratic electoral competition, quipped: "He would not stoop; he did not conquer."^[1]

Rosebery was a Liberal Imperialist who favoured strong national defence and imperialism abroad and social reform at home, while being solidly anti-socialist. Historians judge him a failure as foreign minister^[2] and as prime minister.^[3][4]