George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, KG, GCSI, GCIE, PC, FBA, was styled as Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911, and as Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman who served as Viceroy of India from 1899 to 1905. During his time as viceroy, Lord Curzon created the territory of Eastern Bengal and Assam. He resigned after a political dispute with the British military commander Lord Kitchener. During the First World War, Curzon served in the small War Cabinet of Prime Minister David Lloyd George as Leader of the House of Lords, as well as the War Policy Committee. He served as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs at the Foreign Office from 1919 to 1924.
Despite his successes as both viceroy and foreign secretary, in 1923 Curzon was denied the office of prime minister. Bonar Law and other Conservative Party leaders preferred to have Stanley Baldwin rather than Curzon as prime minister and these views were made known to King George V. David Gilmour, in his biography Curzon: Imperial Statesman, contends that Curzon deserved the top position.