William Harcourt (politician)

The Right Honourable Sir William Harcourt KC
Leader of the Opposition
In office 6 October 1896 – 8 December 1898
Preceded by	The Earl of Rosebery
Succeeded by	Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office 18 August 1892 – 21 June 1895
Prime Minister	William Ewart Gladstone The Earl of Rosebery
Preceded by	George Goschen
Succeeded by	Sir Michael Hicks Beach, Bt
In office 6 February 1886 – 20 July 1886
Prime Minister	William Ewart Gladstone
Preceded by	Sir Michael Hicks Beach, Bt
Succeeded by	Lord Randolph Churchill
Home Secretary
In office 28 April 1880 – 23 June 1885
Prime Minister	William Ewart Gladstone
Preceded by	R. A. Cross
Succeeded by	R. A. Cross
Personal details
Born	(1827-10-14)14 October 1827
Died	1 October 1904(1904-10-01) (aged 76)
Nationality	British
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	(1) Maria Theresa Lister (d. 1863) (2) Elizabeth Cabot Motley (d. 1928)
Alma mater	Trinity College, Cambridge

Sir William George Granville Venables Vernon Harcourt, KC (14 October 1827 – 1 October 1904) was a British lawyer, journalist and Liberal statesman. He was Member of Parliament for Oxford, Derby then West Monmouthshire and held the offices of Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer under William Ewart Gladstone before becoming Leader of the Opposition. A talented speaker in parliament, he was sometimes regarded as aloof and possessing only an intellectual involvement in his causes. He failed to engender much emotional response in the public and became only a reluctant and disillusioned leader of his party.^[1]

Historian Roy Jenkins says he was "too much of a party man. In manner and by origin he was a patrician figure, but he saw most issues exclusively in terms of parliamentary infighting… His views were usually much more of a reaction to what his political enemies, in the other party and in his own, were saying than the result of any objective thought. He inspired considerable loyalty among his followers – the Great Gladiator he was sometimes enthusiastically called – but his colleagues, partly as a result of his execrable temperament and his bullying… found him a difficult man with whom to work."^[2]