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Arthur Wellesley, Duke of <st1:City><st1:place>Wellington</st1:place></st1:City> - <st1:date Month="5" Day="1" Year="1769">1 May 1769</st1:date> to <st1:date Month="12" Day="14" Year="1852">14 December 1852</st1:date>

<st1:date Month="12" Day="14" Year="1852"></st1:date>Prime Minister: 1828 to 1830 - Tory<o:p></o:p>

"An extraordinary affair. I gave them their orders and they wanted to stay and discuss them." (After his first Cabinet meeting as Prime Minister:)

Arthur Wellesley was born in <st1:City><st1:place>Dublin</st1:place></st1:City> to the Earl and Countess of Mornington. Fatherless at an early age, and neglected by his mother, he was a reserved, withdrawn child. He failed to shine at <st1:place>Eton</st1:place>, and instead attended private classes in <st1:City><st1:place>Brussels</st1:place></st1:City>, followed by a military school in <st1:City><st1:place>Angers</st1:place></st1:City>.

Ironically, the young <st1:City><st1:place>Wellesley</st1:place></st1:City> had no desire for a military career, instead he wished to pursue his love of music. Following his mothers wishes, however, he joined a <st1:place>Highland</st1:place> regiment. His initial rise through the ranks was largely thanks to his family's influence, but he eventually became more enamoured of the military life.

<st1:City><st1:place>Wellesley</st1:place></st1:City> fought at <st1:place>Flanders</st1:place> in 1794, and directed the campaign in <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region> in 1796, where his elder brother was Governor General. Knighted for his efforts, he returned to <st1:country-region><st1:place>England</st1:place></st1:country-region> in 1805.

The following year he was elected Member of Parliament for <st1:City><st1:place>Rye</st1:place></st1:City>, and within a year was appointed Chief Secretary of <st1:country-region><st1:place>Ireland</st1:place></st1:country-region> by the Duke of Portland.

He continued with his military career despite his parliamentary duties, fighting campaigns in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Portugal</st1:place></st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region><st1:place>France</st1:place></st1:country-region>, and being made commander of the British Army in the Peninsular War. He was subsequently given the title Duke of Wellington in 1814, and went on to command his most celebrated campaigns in the Napoleonic Wars, with final victory at <st1:City><st1:place>Waterloo</st1:place></st1:City> in 1815. He was feted, formally honoured, and presented with both an estate in Hampshire and a fortune.

After the Battle of Waterloo, <st1:City><st1:place>Wellington</st1:place></st1:City> became Commander in Chief of the army in occupied <st1:country-region><st1:place>France</st1:place></st1:country-region>. He later returned to <st1:country-region><st1:place>England</st1:place></st1:country-region> and Parliament, and joined Lord Liverpool's government. In 1828 he accepted the King's invitation to form his own government.

In office he changed his opinion on the Irish question, and came to favour Catholic emancipation, saying, with his Home Secretary, Peel, that the only alternative was conflict. He persuaded the King only by his threat of resignation. Feelings on this issue ran so high that <st1:City><st1:place>Wellington</st1:place></st1:City> even fought a duel with Lord Winchilsea in <st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Battersea</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType>Park</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.

<st1:City><st1:place>Wellington</st1:place></st1:City> did not sway, however, on the matter of parliamentary reform. He defended rule by the elite, and feared mob rule - a fear strengthened by the riots and sabotage that followed rising rural unemployment as agricultural mechanisation spread. But his opposition to reform caused his popularity to plummet to such an extent that crowds gathered to throw missiles at his <st1:City><st1:place>London</st1:place></st1:City> home. The Government was defeated in the Commons, and <st1:City><st1:place>Wellington</st1:place></st1:City> resigned, to be replaced by Earl Grey. <st1:City><st1:place>Wellington</st1:place></st1:City> continued to fight reform in opposition, though finally consented to the Great Reform Bill in 1832.

Two years later he refused a second invitation to form a government, and instead joined Peel's ministry as Foreign Secretary. He later became Leader of the House of Lords, and upon Peel's resignation in 1846, retired himself. He died in September 1852, and his reactionary premiership is largely forgotten. He is warmly remembered for the strength of his character, his leadership skills and his achievements as a military genius. He is buried at St.Paul's Cathedral, <st1:City><st1:place>London</st1:place></st1:City>.<o:p></o:p>