Records of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom The tallest Prime Minister is believed to be Lord Salisbury, who was around in height, although Downing Street's own website lists James Callaghan as the tallest. The longest personal name held by a British Prime Minister was that of Lord Derby whose three forenames and double-barreled surnameEdward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanleytotal 32 letters. The shortest baptismal names, each 10 letters long, were held by Lord Bute who was plain John Stuart, and Sir Robert Peel. John Major was baptised "John Roy Major" but his birth certificate simply read "John Major", and so his legal name has only nine letters. (He used
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom official recognition given to the office had only been in the Treaty of Berlin in 1878, when Disraeli signed as "First Lord of the Treasury and Prime Minister of her Britannic Majesty". It wasn't until 7 years later, in 1885, did the official records entrench the institution of Prime Minister, using "Prime Minister" at the list of Government ministers printed in Hansard. Incumbents had no statutory authority in their own right. As late as 1904, Arthur Balfour explained the status of his office in a speech at Haddington: "The Prime Minister has no salary as Prime Minister. He has no