How old UK Prime Ministers were when they took office – from Rishi Sunak to Tony Blair

Rishi Sunak is the youngest PM we’ve had in some time. (Pictures: Dan Kitwood/Jeff J Mitchell/Tim Graham/H F Davis/Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

After a brief leadership campaign, Rishi Sunak will now become the youngest Prime Minister to assume office in more than 200 years.

As well as the youngest PM in over two centuries, Mr Sunak will also become the UK’s first Hindu prime minister and the first of Asian heritage.

While in the US, there is a minimum age of 35 to run for president, anyone over 18 can become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

As such, how old have our recent prime ministers been upon assuming office?

Here’s what you need to know.

How old UK Prime Ministers were when they took office?

While some of our modern Prime Ministers have been older than others, some have come closer to Rishi Sunak in age.

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Prime Ministers' ages when they took office

From Winston Churchill to Rishi Sunak, the ages of the PMs were as follows:

• Winston Churchill – 65 years old
• Clement Attlee – 62 years old
• Anthony Eden – 57 years old
• Harold Macmillan – 62 years old
• Alec Douglas-Home – 60 years old
• Harold Wilson – 48 years old
• Edward Heath – 53 years old
• James Callaghan – 64 years old
• Margaret Thatcher – 53 years old
• John Major – 47 years old
• Tony Blair – 43 years old
• Gordon Brown – 56 years old
• David Cameron – 43 years old
• Theresa May – 59 years old
• Boris Johnson – 55 years old
• Liz Truss – 47 years old
• Rishi Sunak – 42 years old

The UK hasn’t had a Prime Minister aged 42 or younger since 1812. Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, was also 42, took the position.

Upon his appointment, Tony Blair was formerly the youngest prime minister the country had had since then – with David Cameron meeting that age just a few years later.

Tony Blair was 43 years old when he became PM (Picture: Anwar Hussein Collection/ROTA/WireImage)

While Rishi Sunak is, without doubt, our youngest PM in some time, it is important to point out that he is far from the youngest Prime Minister the country has had.

William Pitt The Younger, who held office in 1783, was just 24 years old.

Other notable young PMs have included Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton (aged 33, in 1768), Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham (aged 35, in 1765), William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire (aged 36, in 1756) and Frederick North (aged 37, in 1770).

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