Salisbury, Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd marquess

Salisbury, Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd marquess of

(born , Feb. 3, 1830, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Eng.—died Aug. 22, 1903, Hatfield) British prime minister (1885–86, 1886–92, 1895–1902). He served in Benjamin Disraeli's government as secretary for India (1874–78) and foreign secretary (1878–80), helping to convene the Congress of Berlin. He led the Conservative Party opposition in the House of Lords, then became prime minister on three occasions beginning in 1885, usually serving concurrently as foreign secretary. He opposed alliances, maintained strong national interests, and presided over an expansion of Britain's colonial empire, especially in Africa. He retired in 1902 in favour of his nephew, Arthur James Balfour.