Second Gladstone ministry explained

Incumbent:	1880–1885
Government Head Title:	Prime Minister
Government Head:	William Gladstone
State Head Title:	Monarch
State Head:	Victoria
Total Number:	118 appointments
Political Party:	Liberal Party
Legislature Status:	Majority
Election:	1880 general election
Opposition Party:	Conservative Party
Previous:	Second Disraeli ministry
Successor:	First Salisbury ministry

After campaigning against the foreign policy of the Beaconsfield ministry, William Gladstone led the Liberal Party to victory in the 1880 general election. The nominal leader of the Party, Lord Hartington, resigned in Gladstone's favour and Gladstone was appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for a second time by Queen Victoria. He pursued a policy of parliamentary reform, but his government became wildly unpopular after the death of General Gordon in 1885. Gladstone was held responsible, and resigned, leaving the way free for the Conservatives under Lord Salisbury to form a government.

Cabinet; April 1880 – June 1885

Office	Name	Term
First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	William Gladstone	April 1880 – June 1885
Lord Chancellor	The Lord Selborne†	April 1880 – June 1885
Lord President of the Council	The Earl Spencer	April 1880 – March 1883
Lord President of the Council	The Lord Carlingford	March 1883 – June 1885
Lord Privy Seal	The Duke of Argyll	April 1880 – May 1881
	The Lord Carlingford	May 1881 – March 1885
	The Earl of Rosebery	March 1885 – June 1885
Home Secretary	Sir William Harcourt	April 1880 – June 1885
Foreign Secretary Leader of the House of Lords	The Earl Granville	April 1880 – June 1885
Secretary of State for the Colonies	The Earl of Kimberley	April 1880 – December 1882
Secretary of State for the Colonies	The Earl of Derby	December 1882 – June 1885
Secretary of State for War	Hugh Childers	April 1880 – December 1882
Secretary of State for War	Marquess of Hartington	December 1882 – June 1885
Secretary of State for India	Marquess of Hartington	April 1880 – December 1882
Secretary of State for India	The Earl of Kimberley	December 1882 – June 1885
Chancellor of the Exchequer	William Gladstone	April 1880 – December 1882
Chancellor of the Exchequer	Hugh Childers	December 1882 – June 1885
First Lord of the Admiralty	The Earl of Northbrook	April 1880 – June 1885
President of the Board of Trade	Joseph Chamberlain	April 1880 – June 1885
President of the Local Government Board	John George Dodson	April 1880 – December 1882
President of the Local Government Board	Sir Charles Dilke	December 1882 – June 1885
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	John Bright	April 1880 – July 1882
	The Earl of Kimberley	July 1882 – December 1882
	John George Dodson	December 1882 – October 1884
	George Otto Trevelyan	October 1884 – June 1885
Postmaster General	Henry Fawcett	3 May 1880 – 6 November 1884
Postmaster General	George John Shaw-Lefevre	7 November 1884 – 9 June 1885
Chief Secretary for Ireland	William Edward Forster	April 1880 – May 1882
Chief Secretary for Ireland	successor not in the cabinet
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland	The Earl Spencer	April 1882 – June 1885

†Created Earl of Selborne in 1882.

Notes

William Gladstone served as both First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer between April 1880 and December 1882.
The Earl Spencer served as both Lord President and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland between April 1882 and March 1883.
The Earl of Kimberley served as both Colonial Secretary and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster between July and December 1882.
The Lord Carlingford served as both Lord Privy Seal and Lord President between March 1883 and March 1885.

Changes

May 1881: The Lord Carlingford succeeds the Duke of Argyll as Lord Privy Seal.
April 1882: The Earl Spencer becomes Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, but retains his seat in the cabinet and his position as Lord President.
May 1882: William Edward Forster resigns as Chief Secretary for Ireland. His successor is not in the cabinet.
July 1882: The Earl of Kimberley succeeds John Bright as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster remaining also Colonial Secretary.
December 1882: Hugh Childers succeeds William Gladstone as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Lord Hartington succeeds Childers as Secretary for War. Kimberley succeeds Hartington as Secretary for India. The Earl of Derby succeeds Kimberley as Colonial Secretary. John George Dodson succeeds Kimberley as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Sir Charles Dilke succeeds Dodson as President of the Local Government Board.
March 1883: Carlingford succeeds Spencer as Lord President, remaining also Lord Privy Seal. Spencer remains in the Cabinet as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
October 1884: George Otto Trevelyan succeeds Dodson as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
March 1885: The Earl of Rosebery succeeds Carlingford as Lord Privy Seal. Carlingford remains Lord President. George John Shaw-Lefevre enters the cabinet as Postmaster-General.

List of ministers

Cabinet members are listed in bold face.

Office	Name	Date
scope=row	Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Commons	William Gladstone	23 April 18809 June 1885
scope=row rowspan=2	Chancellor of the Exchequer	William Gladstone	28 April 1880
Hugh Childers	16 December 1882
scope=row	Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury	Lord Richard Grosvenor	28 April 1880
scope=row rowspan=3	Financial Secretary to the Treasury	Lord Frederick Cavendish	28 April 1880
Leonard Courtney	8 May 1882
John Tomlinson Hibbert	12 December 1884
scope=row rowspan=5	Junior Lords of the Treasury	Sir Arthur Hayter	5 May 188026 June 1882
John Holms	5 May 188026 June 1882
Charles Cecil Cotes	5 May 18809 June 1885
Herbert Gladstone	24 August 18819 June 1885
Robert Duff	26 June 18829 June 1885
scope=row	Lord Chancellor	The Lord Selborne	28 April 1880
scope=row rowspan=2	Lord President of the Council	The Earl Spencer	28 April 1880
The Lord Carlingford	19 March 1883
scope=row rowspan=3	Lord Privy Seal	The Duke of Argyll	28 April 1880
The Lord Carlingford	2 May 1881
The Earl of Rosebery	5 March 1885
scope=row	Secretary of State for the Home Department	Sir William Vernon Harcourt	28 April 1880
scope=row rowspan=5	Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department	Arthur Wellesley Peel	28 April 1880
Leonard Courtney	1 January 1881
The Earl of Rosebery	8 August 1881
John Tomlinson Hibbert	7 June 1883
Henry Fowler	12 December 1884
scope=row	Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the House of Lords	The Earl Granville	28 April 1880
scope=row rowspan=2	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	Sir Charles Dilke	28 April 1880
Lord Edmond FitzMaurice	1 January 1883
scope=row rowspan=2	Secretary of State for War	Hugh Childers	28 April 1880
Marquess of Hartington	16 December 1882
scope=row	Under-Secretary of State for War	The Earl of Morley	1 May 1880
scope=row rowspan=2	Financial Secretary to the War Office	Henry Campbell-Bannerman	28 April 1880
Sir Arthur Hayter	13 May 1882
scope=row rowspan=2	Surveyor-General of the Ordnance	Sir John Miller Adye	1 June 1880
Henry Robert Brand	17 January 1882
scope=row rowspan=2	Secretary of State for the Colonies	The Earl of Kimberley	28 April 1880
The Earl of Derby	16 December 1882
scope=row rowspan=3	Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies	Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff	29 August 1880
Leonard Courtney	6 August 1881
Evelyn Ashley	12 May 1882
scope=row rowspan=2	Secretary of State for India	Marquess of Hartington	28 April 1880
The Earl of Kimberley	16 December 1882
scope=row rowspan=3	Under-Secretary of State for India	The Marquess of Lansdowne	29 April 1880
Viscount Enfield	1 September 1880
John Kynaston Cross	16 January 1883
scope=row	First Lord of the Admiralty	The Earl of Northbrook	28 April 1880
scope=row rowspan=4	Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty	George Shaw-Lefevre	28 April 1880
George Trevelyan	29 November 1880
Henry Campbell-Bannerman	10 May 1882
Sir Thomas Brassey	23 October 1884
scope=row rowspan=2	Civil Lord of the Admiralty	Thomas Brassey	12 May 1880
George Wightwick Rendel	22 July 1882
scope=row rowspan=4	Chief Secretary for Ireland	William Edward Forster	30 April 1880
Lord Frederick Cavendish	6 May 1882
George Trevelyan	9 May 1882
Henry Campbell-Bannerman	23 October 1884
scope=row rowspan=2	Lord Lieutenant of Ireland	The Earl Cowper	4 May 1880
The Earl Spencer	4 May 1882
scope=row rowspan=4	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	John Bright	28 April 1880
The Earl of Kimberley	25 July 1882
John George Dodson	28 December 1882
George Trevelyan	29 October 1884
scope=row rowspan=2	President of the Local Government Board	John George Dodson	3 May 1880
Sir Charles Dilke	28 December 1882
scope=row rowspan=2	Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board	John Tomlinson Hibbert	3 May 1880
George W. E. Russell	7 June 1883
scope=row rowspan=2	Postmaster-General	Henry Fawcett	3 May 1880
George Shaw-Lefevre	7 November 1884
scope=row	President of the Board of Trade	Joseph Chamberlain	3 May 1880
scope=row rowspan=2	Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade	Evelyn Ashley	29 April 1880
John Holms	15 May 1882
scope=row rowspan=3	First Commissioner of Works	William Patrick Adam	3 May 1880
George Shaw-Lefevre	29 November 1881
The Earl of Rosebery	13 February 1885
scope=row	Vice-President of the Committee on Education	A. J. Mundella	3 May 1880
scope=row	Paymaster General	The Lord Wolverton	24 May 1880
scope=row	Attorney General	Sir Henry James	3 May 1880
scope=row	Solicitor General	Sir Farrer Herschell	3 May 1880
scope=row	Judge Advocate General	George Osborne Morgan	7 May 1880
scope=row rowspan=2	Lord Advocate	John McLaren	5 May 1880
John Balfour	19 August 1881
scope=row rowspan=2	Solicitor General for Scotland	John Balfour	6 May 1880
Alexander Asher	19 August 1881
scope=row rowspan=5	Attorney General for Ireland	Hugh Law	10 May 1880
William Moore Johnson	17 November 1881
Andrew Marshall Porter	3 January 1883
John Naish	19 December 1883
Samuel Walker	1885
scope=row rowspan=5	Solicitor General for Ireland	William Moore Johnson	24 May 1880
Andrew Marshall Porter	18 November 1881
John Naish	9 January 1883
Samuel Walker	19 December 1883
The Macdermot	1885
scope=row	Lord Steward of the Household	The Earl Sydney	3 May 1880
scope=row	Lord Chamberlain of the Household	The Earl of Kenmare	3 May 1880
scope=row	Vice-Chamberlain of the Household	Lord Charles Bruce	3 May 1880
scope=row	Master of the Horse	The Duke of Westminster	3 May 1880
scope=row	Treasurer of the Household	The Earl of Breadalbane	3 May 1880
scope=row	Comptroller of the Household	The Lord Kensington	3 May 1880
scope=row rowspan=3	Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms	The Earl Fife	3 May 1880
The Marquess of Huntly	21 January 1881
The Lord Carrington	27 June 1881
scope=row	Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard	The Lord Monson	3 May 1880
scope=row	Master of the Buckhounds	The Earl of Cork	3 May 1880
scope=row rowspan=2	Mistress of the Robes	The Duchess of Bedford	3 May 1880
The Duchess of Roxburghe	11 January 1883
scope=row rowspan=12	Lords in Waiting	The Lord Methuen	10 May 18809 June 1885
The Earl of Zetland	10 May 188014 September 1880
The Earl of Listowel	10 May 188014 September 1880
The Lord Ribblesdale	10 May 18809 June 1885
The Lord Sudeley	10 May 18809 June 1885
The Lord Wrottesley	10 May 18809 June 1885
Viscount Enfield	20 May 18801 September 1880
The Viscount Torrington	23 June 185927 April 1884
The Earl of Dalhousie	14 September 18809 June 1885
The Lord Sandhurst	14 September 18809 June 1885
The Lord Thurlow	14 September 18809 June 1885
The Viscount Bridport	30 June 188418 February 1901
scope=row	Extra Lord in Waiting	The Lord Sackville	1 October 18761 October 1888

Notes

References

Book: Cook, C. . B. . Keith . British Historical Facts 1830–1900 . registration . London . Macmillan . 1975 . 0333132203 .