| Incumbent: | 1990–1992 |
| Government Head Title: | Prime Minister |
| Government Head: | John Major |
| Government Head History: | 1990–1997 |
| State Head Title: | Monarch |
| State Head: | Elizabeth II |
| Total Number: | 108 appointments |
| Legislature Term: | 50th UK Parliament |
| Opposition Cabinet: | Kinnock Shadow Cabinet |
| Opposition Leader: | Neil Kinnock |
| Last Election: | 1992 general election |
| Previous: | Third Thatcher ministry |
| Successor: | Second Major ministry |
| Jurisdiction: | United Kingdom |
John Major formed the first Major ministry upon the resignation of Margaret Thatcher in November 1990, after being invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form the next administration. Major inherited a majority government.
See also: 1990 Conservative Party leadership election. The resignation of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister came on 22 November 1990, more than 11 years after she had first been elected. Former Cabinet minister Michael Heseltine had challenged her leadership earlier in November and although she fared better than him in the leadership contest, she was unable to gain an outright win and handed in her resignation, paving the way for a new Conservative leader more likely to win the next general election which was due within 18 months.
The announcement of the Community Charge (often referred to as the Poll Tax) during 1989 and the onset of a recession shortly before Thatcher's resignation had seen Tory support plunge in the opinion polls, most of which were showing a double-digit Labour lead and making it seem likely that Neil Kinnock would be the next prime minister.
Conservative MPs elected Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Major as their new leader on 27 November 1990, and he was invited by the Queen to form a majority government the following day.
The change of leader from Margaret Thatcher to John Major saw a revival in Tory support, with the double-digit lead in the opinion polls for the Labour Party being replaced by a narrow Conservative one by the turn of 1991. Although a general election did not have to be held until June 1992, Labour leader Neil Kinnock kept pressurising Major to hold an election during 1991, but Major resisted the calls and there was no election that year.
The recession which began in the autumn of 1990 deepened during 1991, with unemployment standing at nearly 2.5 million by December 1991, compared to 1.6 million just 18 months earlier. Despite this, Tory support in the opinion polls remained relatively strong, with any Labour lead now being by the narrowest of margins, although Labour still made some gains at the expense of the Tories in local elections, and seized the Monmouth seat from the Tories in a by-election.
Major finally called an election for 9 April 1992 which ended the first Major ministry. In a surprise to most pollsters, Major won the election, which led to the formation of the Second Major ministry and a fourth consecutive Conservative term in office.
Members of the Cabinet are in bold face.
| Office | Name | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| scope=row | Prime Minister First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service | John Major | 28 November 1990 – 1 May 1997 |
| scope=row | Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain | The Lord Mackay of Clashfern | Continued in office |
| scope=row | Leader of the House of Commons Lord President of the Council | John MacGregor | Continued in office |
| scope=row | Leader of the House of Lords Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal | The Lord Waddington | 28 November 1990 |
| scope=row | Chancellor of the Exchequer | Norman Lamont | 28 November 1990 |
| scope=row | Chief Secretary to the Treasury | David Mellor | 28 November 1990 |
| scope=row | Minister of State for Treasury | Gillian Shephard | 28 November 1990 – 11 April 1992 |
| scope=row | Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury | Richard Ryder | 28 November 1990 |
| scope=row | Financial Secretary to the Treasury | Francis Maude | Continued in office |
| scope=row | Economic Secretary to the Treasury | John Maples | Continued in office – 14 April 1992 |
| scope=row rowspan=5 | Lords of the Treasury | Tom Sackville | Continued in Office – 14 April 1992 |
| Sydney Chapman | Continued in office – 14 April 1992 | ||
| Greg Knight | Continued in office – 27 May 1993 | ||
| Irvine Patnick | Continued in office – 20 July 1994 | ||
| Nicholas Baker | 3 December 1990 – 20 July 1994 | ||
| scope=row rowspan=6 | Assistant Whips | Timothy Wood | Continued in office – 14 April 1992 |
| Timothy Kirkhope | Continued in office – 15 December 1992 | ||
| Timothy Boswell | Continued in office – 14 April 1992 | ||
| Neil Hamilton | Continued in office – 14 April 1992 | ||
| Nicholas Baker | Continued in office – 3 December 1990 | ||
| David Davis | 3 December 1990 – 28 May 1993 | ||
| scope=row | Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs | Douglas Hurd | 26 October 1989 |
| scope=row rowspan=4 | Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs | Lynda Chalker | Continued in office – 1 May 1997 |
| The Earl of Caithness | Continued in office – 15 April 1992 | ||
| Tristan Garel-Jones | Continued in office – 27 May 1993 | ||
| The Hon. Douglas Hogg | Continued in office – 5 July 1995 | ||
| scope=row | Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs | The Hon. Mark Lennox-Boyd | Continued in office |
| scope=row | Minister for Overseas Development | Lynda Chalker, Baroness Chalker of Wallasey | Continued in office |
| scope=row | Secretary of State for the Home Department | Kenneth Baker | 28 November 1990 |
| scope=row rowspan=3 | Minister of State for Home Affairs | John Patten | Continued in office – 14 April 1992 |
| The Earl Ferrers | Continued in office – 20 July 1994 | ||
| Angela Rumbold | Continued in office – 14 April 1992 | ||
| scope=row | Under-Secretary of State for Home Affairs | Peter Lloyd | Continued in office – 15 April 1992 |
| scope=row | Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food | John Gummer | Continued in office |
| scope=row | Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food | The Baroness Trumpington | Continued in office – 14 April 1992 |
| scope=row rowspan=2 | Under-Secretary of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food | David Curry | Continued in office – 14 April 1992 |
| David Maclean | Continued in office – 14 April 1992 | ||
| scope=row | Minister for the Arts | Tim Renton | 28 November 1990 |
| scope=row | Secretary of State for Defence | Tom King | Continued in office |
| scope=row | Minister of State for the Armed Forces | The Hon. Archie Hamilton | Continued in office |
| scope=row | Minister of State for Defence Procurement | Alan Clark | Continued in office |
| scope=row rowspan=2 | Under-Secretary of State for Defence | Kenneth Carlisle | 28 November 1990 – 15 April 1992 |
| The Earl of Arran | 28 November 1990 – 15 April 1992 | ||
| scope=row | Secretary of State for Education and Science | Kenneth Clarke | Continued in office |
| scope=row | Minister of State, Education and Science | Timothy Eggar | Continued in office – 14 April 1992 |
| scope=row rowspan=3 | Under-Secretary of State, Education and Science | Alan Howarth | Continued in office – 14 April 1992 |
| Michael Fallon | Continued in office – 14 April 1992 | ||
| Robert Atkins | 28 November 1990 – 14 April 1992 | ||
| scope=row | Secretary of State for Employment | Michael Howard | Continued in office |
| scope=row rowspan=3 | Under-Secretary of State, Employment | Robert Jackson | Continued in office – 14 April 1992 |
| Eric Forth | Continued in office – 14 April 1992 | ||
| The Viscount Ullswater | Continued in office – 16 September 1993 | ||
| scope=row | Secretary of State for Energy | John Wakeham | Continued in office |
| scope=row rowspan=2 | Under-Secretary of State, Energy | The Hon. Colin Moynihan | Continued in office – 11 April 1992 |
| David Heathcoat-Amory | 28 November 1990 – 11 April 1992 | ||
| scope=row | Secretary of State for the Environment | Michael Heseltine | 28 November 1990 |
| scope=row | Minister of State for Local Government | Michael Portillo | Continued in office |
| scope=row | Minister of State for Housing | Sir George Young | 28 November 1990 |
| scope=row | Minister of State for Environment and Countryside | David Trippier | 28 November 1990 |
| scope=row | Minister of State, Environment | The Baroness Blatch | 21 May 1991 – 13 April 1992 |
| scope=row rowspan=4 | Under-Secretary of State, Environment | The Baroness Blatch | Continued in office – 21 May 1991 |
| Robert Key | Continued in office – 15 April 1992 | ||
| Tim Yeo | 28 November 1990 – 15 April 1992 | ||
| Tony Baldry | 28 November 1990 – 20 July 1994 | ||
| scope=row | Secretary of State for Health | The Hon. William Waldegrave | Continued in office |
| scope=row | Minister of State, Health | Virginia Bottomley | Continued in office |
| scope=row | Under-Secretary of State, Health and Social Security | The Baroness Hooper | Continued in office – 14 April 1992 |
| scope=row | Secretary of State for Social Security | Tony Newton | Continued in office |
| scope=row | Minister of State, Social Security | Nicholas Scott | Continued in office – 20 July 1994 |
| scope=row rowspan=3 | Under-Secretary of State, Social Security | The Lord Henley | Continued in office - 16 September 1993 |
| Michael Jack | 28 November 1990 – 14 April 1992 | ||
| Ann Widdecombe | 30 November 1990 – 27 May 1993 | ||
| scope=row | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | Chris Patten | 28 November 1990 |
| scope=row | Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | Peter Brooke | Continued in office |
| scope=row rowspan=2 | Minister of State, Northern Ireland | Brian Mawhinney | 28 November 1990 – 14 April 1992 |
| The Lord Belstead | 28 November 1990 – 14 April 1992 | ||
| scope=row rowspan=2 | Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland | Richard Needham (The Earl of Kilmorey) | Continued in office – 15 April 1992 |
| Jeremy Hanley | 3 December 1990 – 27 May 1993 | ||
| scope=row | Paymaster General | The Lord Belstead | 28 November 1990 |
| scope=row | Secretary of State for Scotland | Ian Lang | 28 November 1990 |
| scope=row | Minister of State for Scotland | Michael Forsyth | Continued in office – 14 April 1992 |
| scope=row rowspan=3 | Under-Secretary of State for Scotland | The Lord James Douglas-Hamilton | Continued in office – 6 July 1995 |
| The Lord Strathclyde | Continued in office – 14 April 1992 | ||
| Allan Stewart | 28 November 1990 – 8 February 1995 | ||
| scope=row | Minister for Trade | Tim Sainsbury | Continued in office |
| scope=row | Secretary of State for Trade and Industry | Peter Lilley | Continued in office |
| scope=row rowspan=2 | Minister for Industry | The Lord Hesketh | Continued in office |
| vacant | 21 May 1991 | ||
| scope=row | Minister for Corporate Affairs | John Redwood | Continued in office – 13 April 1992 |
| scope=row rowspan=2 | Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry | Edward Leigh | Continued in office – 27 May 1993 |
| The Lord Reay | 22 May 1991 – 14 April 1992 | ||
| scope=row | Secretary of State for Transport | Malcolm Rifkind | 28 November 1990 |
| scope=row | Minister of State, Transport | The Lord Brabazon of Tara | Continued in office – 14 April 1992 |
| scope=row | Minister for Public Transport | Roger Freeman | 28 November 1990 – 20 July 1994 |
| scope=row rowspan=2 | Under-Secretary of State for Transport | Patrick McLoughlin | Continued in office – 14 April 1992 |
| Christopher Chope | Continued in office – 14 April 1992 | ||
| scope=row | Secretary of State for Wales | David Hunt | Continued in office |
| scope=row | Minister of State for Wales | Wyn Roberts | Continued in office – 20 July 1994 |
| scope=row | Under-Secretary of State for Wales | Nicholas Bennett | 3 December 1990 – 14 April 1992 |
| scope=row | Attorney General | Sir Patrick Mayhew | Continued in office |
| scope=row | Solicitor General | Sir Nicholas Lyell | Continued in office |
| scope=row | Lord Advocate | The Lord Fraser of Carmyllie | Continued in office |
| scope=row | Solicitor General for Scotland | Alan Rodger | Continued in office |
| scope=row | Treasurer of the Household | Alastair Goodlad | Continued in office |
| scope=row | Comptroller of the Household | David Lightbown | 28 November 1990 |
| scope=row | Vice-Chamberlain of the Household | John Mark Taylor | 28 November 1990 |
| scope=row rowspan=2 | Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms | The Lord Denham | Continued in office |
| The Lord Hesketh | 22 May 1991 | ||
| scope=row rowspan=2 | Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard | The Viscount Davidson | Continued in office |
| The Earl of Strathmore | 30 December 1991 | ||
| scope=row rowspan=7 | Lords-in-Waiting | The Viscount Long | Continued in Office - 2 May 1997 |
| The Lord Reay | Continued in office – 21 May 1991 | ||
| The Earl of Strathmore | Continued in office – 30 December 1991 | ||
| The Lord Cavendish of Furness | Continued in office – 22 April 1993 | ||
| The Viscount Astor | Continued in office – 16 September 1993 | ||
| The Earl Howe | 30 May 1991 – 15 April 1992 | ||
| The Baroness Denton | January 1992 – 15 April 1992 |