Bute, John Stuart, 3rd Earl of

Bute, John Stuart, 3rd Earl of (1713-1792), British statesman, Prime Minister of Great Britain (1762-1763). Born in Edinburgh, Bute succeeded to the Scottish earldom on the death of his father in 1723. Educated at Eton, in 1737 he served for three years as a representative peer of Scotland in the House of Lords. In 1747 he made an impression on the Prince and Princess of Wales during a chance game of cards and became one of Prince Frederick's lords of the bedchamber. When the prince died in 1751, Bute came to have great influence over his son, becoming a privy counsellor and groom of the stole when the latter eventually succeeded his grandfather as George III in 1760.

Once in power, George immediately set about ending the Whig hold on power in order to conclude a peace for the Seven Years’ War. Bute was appointed Secretary of State in 1761 and then successfully forced the resignation of first William Pitt, and then Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle. Bute was then appointed prime minister and, in an attempt to secure his position, ordered that all men who owed their position to Newcastle be removed from office, leading to the dismissal of, among others, the Marquess of Rockingham, who then led opposition to Bute in Parliament.

Bute initiated negotiations to secure peace, and the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1763, but the settlement attracted opposition from those who felt it did not properly reflect the success of the British in the war, notoriously by John Wilkes in the North Briton. Bute then introduced legislation to raise tax on cider and wine, in an attempt to finance the national debt, which led to widespread rioting. He was extremely unpopular, not least because he was Scottish, and because it was believed he was trying to subvert the constitution. Bute resigned and was succeeded by George Grenville, but remained an influential adviser to the king until Grenville insisted that he stop consulting him in 1765. Bute retired from the king’s service, a man better suited to his hobby of botany than the job of politics.