Benjamin Disraeli

The Right Honourable The Earl of Beaconsfield KG PC DL JP FRS
1878 portrait
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 20 February 1874 – 21 April 1880
Monarch	Victoria
Preceded by	William Ewart Gladstone
Succeeded by	William Ewart Gladstone
In office 27 February 1868 – 1 December 1868
Monarch	Victoria
Preceded by	The Earl of Derby
Succeeded by	William Ewart Gladstone
Leader of the Opposition
In office 21 April 1880 – 19 April 1881
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	William Ewart Gladstone
Preceded by	Marquess of Hartington
Succeeded by	The Marquess of Salisbury
In office 1 December 1868 – 17 February 1874
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	William Ewart Gladstone
Preceded by	William Ewart Gladstone
Succeeded by	William Ewart Gladstone
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office 6 July 1866 – 29 February 1868
Prime Minister	The Earl of Derby
Preceded by	William Ewart Gladstone
Succeeded by	George Ward Hunt
In office 26 February 1858 – 11 June 1859
Prime Minister	The Earl of Derby
Preceded by	Sir George Cornewall Lewis
Succeeded by	William Ewart Gladstone
In office 27 February 1852 – 17 December 1852
Prime Minister	The Earl of Derby
Preceded by	Sir Charles Wood, 3rd Baronet
Succeeded by	William Ewart Gladstone
Personal details
Born	Benjamin D'Israeli (1804-12-21)21 December 1804 Bloomsbury, Middlesex, England
Died	19 April 1881(1881-04-19) (aged 76) Mayfair, London, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Mary Anne Evans ​ ​ (m. 1839; died 1872)​
Parents	Isaac D'Israeli Maria Basevi
Signature
Writing career
Notable works	List Vivian Grey Popanilla The Young Duke Contarini Fleming Ixion in Heaven The Wondrous Tale of Alroy The Rise of Iskander The Infernal Marriage Henrietta Temple Venetia Coningsby Sybil Tancred Lothair Endymion

Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation of the modern Conservative Party, defining its policies and its broad outreach. Disraeli is remembered for his influential voice in world affairs, his political battles with the Liberal Party leader William Ewart Gladstone, and his one-nation conservatism or "Tory democracy". He made the Conservatives the party most identified with the British Empire and military action to expand it, both of which were popular among British voters. He is the only British prime minister to have been born Jewish.

Disraeli was born in Bloomsbury, then a part of Middlesex. His father left Judaism after a dispute at his synagogue; Benjamin became an Anglican at the age of 12. After several unsuccessful attempts, Disraeli entered the House of Commons in 1837. In 1846, Prime Minister Robert Peel split the party over his proposal to repeal the Corn Laws, which involved ending the tariff on imported grain. Disraeli clashed with Peel in the House of Commons, becoming a major figure in the party. When Lord Derby, the party leader, thrice formed governments in the 1850s and 1860s, Disraeli served as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons.

Upon Derby's retirement in 1868, Disraeli became prime minister briefly before losing that year's general election. He returned to the Opposition before leading the party to a majority in the 1874 general election. He maintained a close friendship with Queen Victoria who, in 1876, elevated him to the peerage as Earl of Beaconsfield. Disraeli's second term was dominated by the Eastern question—the slow decay of the Ottoman Empire and the desire of other European powers, such as Russia, to gain at its expense. Disraeli arranged for the British to purchase a major interest in the Suez Canal Company in Egypt. In 1878, faced with Russian victories against the Ottomans, he worked at the Congress of Berlin to obtain peace in the Balkans at terms favourable to Britain and unfavourable to Russia, its longstanding enemy. This diplomatic victory established Disraeli as one of Europe's leading statesmen.

World events thereafter moved against the Conservatives. Controversial wars in Afghanistan and South Africa undermined his public support. He angered farmers by refusing to reinstitute the Corn Laws in response to poor harvests and cheap imported grain. With Gladstone conducting a massive speaking campaign, the Liberals defeated Disraeli's Conservatives at the 1880 general election. In his final months, Disraeli led the Conservatives in Opposition. Disraeli wrote novels throughout his career, beginning in 1826, and published his last completed novel, Endymion, shortly before he died at the age of 76.