What is Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle?
[[File:1stDukeOfNewcastleOld.jpg|thumb|250px|His Grace the Duke of Newcastle]] '''Thomas Pelham-Holles''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|commas=|size=100%|KG|PC|FRS}} (21 July 1693 – 17 November 1768) was 1st Duke of [[Newcastle upon Tyne]] and 1st Duke of [[Newcastle-under-Lyme]]. He was a British [[Whigs|Whig]] statesman, and the third [[Prime Minister]]. He was Prime Minister for two separate terms. He is commonly known as the '''Duke of Newcastle'''. His official life extended throughout the Whig supremacy of the [[18th century]]. He was a [[protégé]] of Sir [[Robert Walpole]], and served under him for more than 20 years until 1742. He held power with his brother, Prime Minister [[Henry Pelham]], until 1754. By then he had served as a [[Cabinet minister|Secretary of State]] continuously for 30 years and dominated British foreign policy. After Henry's death, the Duke of Newcastle was prime minister for six years in two separate periods. His first premiership (1754{{ndash}}1756) was not particularly notable: Newcastle partly caused the [[Seven Years' War]], and his weak [[diplomacy]] cost him the premiership.<ref>Basil Williams, ''The Whig Supremacy 1714{{ndash}}1760'' (2nd ed. 1962) pp 352&ndash;53.</ref> After his second term (1757{{ndash}}1762), he served briefly in [[Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham|Lord Rockingham]]'s ministry, before he retired from government. He was most effective as a deputy to a leader of greater ability, such as Walpole, his brother, or [[William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham|William Pitt the Elder]]. == References == {{reflist}} [[Category:Prime Ministers of Great Britain]] [[Category:Whig party (UK) politicians]]