How many times did William Gladstone serve as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom?

William Ewart Gladstone (29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British Liberal statesman and earlier Conservative politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times (1868–74, 1880–85, February–July 1886 and 1892–94), more than any other person, and served as Chancellor of the Exchequer four times. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister; he resigned for the final time when he was 84 years old.

Gladstone first entered Parliament in 1832. Beginning as a High Tory, Gladstone served in the Cabinet of Sir Robert Peel. After the split of the Conservatives Gladstone was a Peelite – in 1859 the Peelites merged with the Whigs and the Radicals to form the Liberal Party. As Chancellor, Gladstone became committed to low public spending and to electoral reform, earning him the sobriquet "The People's William".