Arthur Balfour

Balfour remained a bachelor throughout his life. Though Scottish socialite Margot Asquith wished to marry him, Balfour turned down the proposal by citing that he wished to concentrate on his political career.

It’s also believed that Balfour was close to several women such as Mary Charteris and Lady Elcho. Apparently Balfour and Elcho were really close, and the possibility of the duo being involved in a romantic relationship cannot be ruled out. However, few sources also say that Balfour was gay.

Balfour was also famous for his attitude, which was famously termed as the ‘Balfourian manner’. According to an English journalist of the time, Balfour was a self-obsessed man, and felt he was quite superior to the rest of the crowd.

Arthur Balfour was born on July 25, 1848, to Lady Blanche Gascoyne-Cecil and James Maitland Balfour, in Scotland. He was the eldest son, of the eight children born to his parents. Most of his relatives were well known politicians of their time. His father was also an MP.

He received his primary education from the ‘Grange Preparatory School’ located in Hertfordshire. After graduating in 1861, Arthur moved to prestigious institutions like ‘Elton College’, the ‘University of Cambridge’, and ‘Trinity College’, where he studied for the next eight years.

During his student days, Balfour was very influenced by his professor, the great English poet, William Cory. It was Cory who inspired Arthur to pursue a political career.

Balfour made news in the English political circles after being elected as the conservative Member of Parliament (MP), in 1874.

Four years after he was elected as the Member of Parliament, Balfour was chosen to become the private secretary to Lord Salisbury, his uncle. This assignment gave Balfour great political exposure.

He accompanied his uncle, Lord Salisbury, to the ‘Congress of Berlin’, to address the issue of the ‘Russo-Turkish Conflict’, which was a great political issue back then. This trip made a huge difference to Balfour’s approach towards politics.

Balfour was relieved of his duties as a private secretary, in 1880. He gained enough political visibility in 6 years, which helped him become friends with political stalwarts like Sir Henry Drummond Wolff, Lord Randolph Churchill, and John Gorst. This quartet was famously known as the ‘Fourth Party’.

The second half of the decade of 1880s proved to be very fruitful for Balfour’s career. He was appointed as the ‘President of The Local Government Board’ in 1885. A year later, he was chosen to be the Secretary of Scotland, which even provided him a place in the cabinet.

One of the first few tasks of Balfour during his tenure as the Prime Minister was the extension of the ‘Education Act’, as well as the introduction of the ‘Irish Land Purchase Act’.

Balfour tried to improve relations between the United Kingdom and the neighbouring countries.