Liverpool, Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of 1770-1828
English politician

Born in London, he was the son of the 1st Earl (1727-1808). Educated at Charterhouse and Christ Church, Oxford, he entered parliament in 1790 as member for Rye. A Tory with Liberal ideas on trade and finance, he became a member of the India Board in 1793, and in 1801 as Foreign Secretary negotiated the unpopular Treaty of Amiens. In 1803 he was created Lord Hawkesbury, and on William Pitt's return to power he went to the Home Office (1804-06). In 1807 he again took the Home Office, and the next year succeeded his father as Earl of Liverpool. In Perceval's ministry of 1809 he was Secretary for War and the Colonies. In 1812 he formed an administration, regarded as reactionary, which lasted for nearly 15 years. He was a Free Trader, and ultimately sought to liberalize the tariff. He united the old and the new Tories at a critical period.