Constituency : Western Derbyshire 1891-1908 ( Liberal Unionist )
Victor took over the seat on the death of his father. He was unopposed. He was 22 and became the baby of the house.
Victor was the eldest son of Lord Edward Cavendish who was prospective heir to the Dukedom of Devonshire given that Hartington had no children. He was educated at Eton and Cambridge.
In 1892 Victor married Evelyn FitzMaurice, the daughter of Lord Lansdowne.
In 1900 Victor was made Treasurer of the Household and in 1903 he became Financial Secretary to the Treasury despite his uncle's distancing himself from the party over Tariff Reform.
In 1908 the Duke of Devonshire ( the former Lord Hartington ) died and Victor inherited the dukedom. From 1911 ( a year before the parties formally merged ) he became the Conservative Chief Whip in the Lords and from 1915 he held that position in the coalition government. He was also Civil Lord of the Admiralty.
In November 1916 Asquith decided to make Victor Governor-General of Canada without consulting the Canadian prime minister Robert Borden which caused some tension. He had to deal with the introduction of conscription in 1917 which caused tension between the two linguistic groups but the Canadian success at Vimy Ridge made things much easier. After the war he promoted agriculture and the arts and his tenure, which came to an end in 1921, was widely seen as a success.
Victor gave some help to the League of Nations before Bonar Law made him Colonial Secretary. In that post he opposed the plans of Lord Delemere for white settler rule in Kenya.
He died in 1938 aged 69.
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