Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington KG, KB, PC (ca 1673 – 2 July 1743) was a British Whig statesman who served continuously in government from 1715 until his death. He served as the nominal head of government from 1742 until his death in 1743, but was merely a figurehead for the true leader of the government, Lord Carteret, the Secretary of State for the Northern Department. He is considered to have been Britain's second Prime Minister, after Sir Robert Walpole.