Sir Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford

Sir Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford (1676–1745) was a British Whig statesman universally regarded as the first Prime Minister of Great Britain, holding office for an unrivaled twenty-one years from 1721 to 1742. Educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge, Walpole entered Parliament in 1701, demonstrating exceptional financial acumen and mastery of parliamentary debate as Secretary at War and Paymaster of the Forces.

Following the devastating financial collapse of the South Sea Bubble in 1720, Walpole restored public credit, shielded the royal court from scandal, and was appointed First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer by King George I. Governing under the pragmatic motto Quieta non movere ('Let sleeping dogs lie'), he avoided foreign wars, lowered national debt, unified Cabinet responsibility, and accepted 10 Downing Street from George II as the permanent official residence of the First Lord.