The son of Pitt the Elder, he became Prime Minister at the age of 24, the youngest ever to hold this office. He restored the authority of Parliament, introduced financial reforms, reduced the enormous national debt he had inherited, and reformed the administration of India. With Britain’s entry into war against France (1793), Pitt became almost entirely occupied with the conduct of the war and with uniting European opposition to France. Having secured the Union of Great Britain and Ireland in 1800, he resigned in 1801 over the issue of Catholic Emancipation (which George III refused to accept). He returned as Premier in 1804 after hostilities with France had been resumed, and died in office.