William Cavendish Bentinck, the eldest son of the 2nd Duke of Portland,
was born in 1738. Educated at Eton and Oxford
University, in 1761 Bentinck was elected to represent the Woeby
constituency. After a year in the House of
Commons, Bentinck's father died and he therefore became the 3rd
Duke of Portland.
In July 1765, Portland entered Lord Rockingham's Whig
cabinet, where he served as lord chamberlain until the fall of the
government the following year. The Duke of Portland returned to power
in 1782 when Lord Rockingham appointed him as lord lieutenant of Ireland.
For a short period in 1783 the Duke of Portland became leader of the
Whig administration. The Duke of Portland's
government was concerned with the power of the East
India Company and in 1783 Charles Fox
attempted to persuade Parliament to pass a bill that would replace
the company's directors with a board of commissioners. George
III made it known to the House of Lords
that he would consider anyone voting with the Bill an enemy. As a
result of this interference, Portland's government resigned.
William Pitt, a Tory,
replaced Portland as Prime Minister and held office for the next eighteen
years. In 1794, Portland and a group of the Whigs
entered a formal alliance with Pitt. Portland became Home Secretary
and played an important role in the passing of the Act
of Union in 1801. The Duke of Portland also served as Home Secretary
under Henry Addington who was Prime Minister
between 1801 and 1804.
When Lord Grenville resigned in 1807
over the refusal of George III to accept
Catholic Emancipation, the Duke of Portland
agreed to form a new administration. Now sixty-nine years old and
in poor health, Portland remained in office until shortly before his
death in 1809.
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