# President of the Board of Control

The President of the Board of Control was a British government official in the late 18th and early 19th centuries responsible for overseeing the British East India Company and generally serving as the chief official in London responsible for Indian affairs. The position was frequently a cabinet level one. The position was abolished in 1858 with the abolition of the East India Company. It was succeeded by the new position of Secretary of State for India.

## List of presidents of the Board of Control

President of the Board of Control :
| Whig Tory Conservative ||||||||
| Portrait | Portrait | Name Honorifics and constituency | Term of office | Term of office | Party | Ministry |
| | | Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney before 1789 Viscount Sydney after 1789 | 4 September 1784 | 6 March 1790 | Whig | Pitt I |
| | | William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville | 6 March 1790 | 22 June 1793 | Tory (Pittite) | Pitt I |
| | | Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville MP for Edinburgh | 22 June 1793 | 25 April 1801 | Tory | Pitt I |
| | | George Legge, 3rd Earl of Dartmouth | 25 April 1801 | 2 July 1802 | Tory | Addington |
| ‍ | | Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh MP for Down before 1805 MP for Boroughbridge after 1806 | 2 July 1802 | 11 February 1806 | Tory | Addington |
| | | Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh MP for Down before 1805 MP for Boroughbridge after 1806 | 2 July 1802 | 11 February 1806 | Tory | Pitt II |
| | | Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto | 11 February 1806 | 15 July 1806 | Whig | All the Talents (Whig–Tory) |
| | | Thomas Grenville MP for Buckingham | 15 July 1806 | 30 September 1806 | Whig | All the Talents (Whig–Tory) |
| | | George Tierney MP for Athlone | 30 September 1806 | 6 April 1807 | Whig | All the Talents (Whig–Tory) |
| | | Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville MP for Midlothian | 6 April 1807 | 11 July 1809 | Tory | Portland II |
| | | Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby | 11 July 1809 | November 1809 | Tory | Portland II |
| | | Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby | 11 July 1809 | November 1809 | Tory | Perceval |
| | | Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville MP for Midlothian before 1811 Viscount Melville after 1811 | November 1809 | 4 April 1812 | Tory | Perceval |
| | | Robert Hobart, 4th Earl of Buckinghamshire | 4 April 1812 | 4 June 1816 | Tory | Perceval |
| | | Robert Hobart, 4th Earl of Buckinghamshire | 4 April 1812 | 4 June 1816 | Tory | Liverpool |
| | | George Canning MP for Liverpool | 4 June 1816 | June 1821 | Tory | Liverpool |
| | | Charles Bathurst MP for Harwich | June 1821 | 4 February 1822 | | Liverpool |
| | | Charles Williams-Wynn (1775–1850) MP for Montgomeryshire | 4 February 1822 | 4 February 1828 | Tory | Liverpool |
| | | Charles Williams-Wynn (1775–1850) MP for Montgomeryshire | 4 February 1822 | 4 February 1828 | Tory | Canning (Canningite–Whig) |
| | | Charles Williams-Wynn (1775–1850) MP for Montgomeryshire | 4 February 1822 | 4 February 1828 | Tory | Goderich (Canningite–Whig) |
| | | Charles Williams-Wynn (1775–1850) MP for Montgomeryshire | 4 February 1822 | 4 February 1828 | Tory | Wellington–Peel |
| | | Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville | 4 February 1828 | 17 September 1828 | Tory | Wellington–Peel |
| | | Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough | 17 September 1828 | 1 December 1830 | Tory | Wellington–Peel |
| | | Charles Grant, 1st Baron Glenelg MP for Inverness-shire | 1 December 1830 | 18 September 1834 | Whig | Grey |
| | | Charles Grant, 1st Baron Glenelg MP for Inverness-shire | 1 December 1830 | 18 September 1834 | Whig | Melbourne I |
| | | Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough | 18 September 1834 | 23 April 1835 | Conservative | Peel I |
| | | John Hobhouse, 1st Baron Broughton MP for Nottingham | 23 April 1835 | 30 August 1841 | Whig | Melbourne II |
| | | Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough | 4 September 1841 | 23 October 1841 | Conservative | Peel II |
| | | William Vesey-FitzGerald, 2nd Baron FitzGerald and Vesey | 23 October 1841 | 17 May 1843 | Conservative | Peel II |
| | | F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich | 17 May 1843 | 30 June 1846 | Conservative | Peel II |
| | | John Hobhouse, 1st Baron Broughton MP for Nottingham before 1847 MP for Harwich after 1848 | 8 July 1846 | 5 February 1852 | Whig | Russell |
| | | Fox Maule-Ramsay, 11th Earl of Dalhousie MP for Perth | 5 February 1852 | 21 February 1852 | Whig | Russell |
| | | John Charles Herries MP for Stamford | 28 February 1852 | 17 December 1852 | Conservative | Who? Who? |
| | | Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax MP for Halifax | 30 December 1852 | 3 March 1855 | Whig | Aberdeen (Peelite–Whig) |
| | | Robert Vernon MP for Northampton | 3 March 1855 | 21 February 1858 | Whig | Palmerston I |
| | | Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough | 6 March 1858 | 5 June 1858 | Conservative | Derby–Disraeli II |
| | | Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby MP for King's Lynn | 5 June 1858 | 2 August 1858 | Conservative | Derby–Disraeli II |
Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby took up the new post of Secretary of State for India on 2 August 1858, upon the establishment of the British Raj.