Chancellors of the exchequer (1559–2009)

The office of chancellor of the exchequer can be traced to the twelfth century, but its significance as a financial office is generally dated to the late sixteenth century, following reforms initiated by Sir Walter Mildmay and William Paulet, first marquess of Winchester (1474/5?–1572). Even after that date, the chancellorship remained a comparatively minor position, but it grew in importance in line with a shifting balance of power between the crown and parliament. Key resolutions passed by the House of Commons in 1706 and 1713 endowed the executive, rather than the monarchy, with the authority to initiate and approve financial legislation. These changes meant that the office of chancellor, formerly administrative, became increasingly political. Since the early nineteenth century, the chancellor of the exchequer has been the cabinet minister responsible for finance and the head of HM Treasury.