Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester (March 1642-2 May 1711) was First Lord of the Treasury (Chief Minister) of Great Britain from 1679 to 1684, succeeding Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex and preceding Sidney Godolphin.
Biography[]
Laurence Hyde was the second son of Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, and he was admitted to the Middle Temple in 1660 before becoming MP for Newport, Cornwall and later for Oxford from 1660 to 1679. He served as Master of the Robes under King Charles II of England from 1662 to 1675, and, as MP for Wootton Bassett from 1679, he also served as First Lord of the Treasury from 1679 to 1684. He was created Earl of Rochester in 1682, having opposed the Exclusion Bill. In 1684, he was sacked after his enemy George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax uncovered his mismanagement of England's finances, but he was given the more dignified position of Lord President of the Council, which he held from 1684 to 1685 and from 1710 to 1711. Lord Rochester resisted King James II of England's efforts to convert him to Catholicism, as well as the King's desire to surround himself with Catholic advisors. After Prince William of Orange invaded England in 1688 at the invitation of several Protestant nobles, Lord Rochester supported negotiations with William and the calling of a free and legal Parliament. While he opposed the election of William and Mary II of England as king and queen, he soon reconciled them to the new order and rejoinde the Privy Council. Lord Rochester became a leader of the High Tories, and he served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1700 to 1703. He was dismissed by Queen Anne due to his quarrelsome nature, and he died in 1711.
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