First Russell ministry explained

Whig Lord John Russell led the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1846 to 1852.

History

Following the split in the Tory Party over the Corn Laws in 1846 and the consequent end of Sir Robert Peel's second government, the Whigs came to power under Lord John Russell. Sir Charles Wood became Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir George Grey Home Secretary and Lord Palmerston Foreign Secretary for the third time.

One of the major problems facing the government was the Great Irish Famine (1845–1849), which Russell failed to deal with effectively. Another problem was the maverick Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston, who was eventually forced to resign in December 1851 after recognising the coup d'état of Louis Napoleon without first seeking royal approval. He was succeeded by Lord Granville, the first of his three tenures as Foreign Secretary. Palmerston thereafter successfully devoted his energies to bringing down Russell's government, leading to the formation of a minority Conservative government under Lord Derby in February 1852.

Cabinet

July 1846 – February 1852

OfficeNameTerm
First Lord of the Treasury
Leader of the House of Commons		Lord John RussellJuly 1846 – February 1852
Lord ChancellorThe Lord CottenhamJuly 1846 – July 1850
 The Lord TruroJuly 1850 – February 1852
Lord President of the Council
Leader of the House of Lords		The Marquess of LansdowneJuly 1846 – February 1852
Lord Privy SealThe Earl of MintoJuly 1846 – February 1852
Home SecretarySir George Grey, BtJuly 1846 – February 1852
Foreign SecretaryThe Viscount PalmerstonJuly 1846 – December 1851
 The Earl GranvilleDecember 1851 – February 1852
Secretary of State for War and the ColoniesThe Earl GreyJuly 1846 – February 1852
Chancellor of the ExchequerSir Charles WoodJuly 1846 – February 1852
First Lord of the AdmiraltyThe Earl of AucklandJuly 1846 – January 1849
 Sir Francis BaringJanuary 1849 – February 1852
President of the Board of ControlSir John Cam Hobhouse, BtJuly 1846 – February 1852
 Fox MauleFebruary 1852
President of the Board of TradeThe Earl of ClarendonJuly 1846 – July 1847
 Henry LabouchereJuly 1847 – February 1852
Chancellor of the Duchy of LancasterThe Lord CampbellJuly 1846 – March 1850
 The Earl of CarlisleMarch 1850 – February 1852
First Commissioner of Woods and ForestsLord Morpeth†July 1846 – July 1850
 Lord SeymourJuly 1850 – February 1852
Chief Secretary for IrelandHenry LabouchereJuly 1846 – July 1847
 successor not in cabinet
Postmaster GeneralThe Marquess of ClanricardeJuly 1846 – February 1852
Paymaster GeneralThomas Babington MacaulayJuly 1846 – July 1847
 successor not in cabinet
 The Earl Granville1851‡–December 1851
 successor not in cabinet
Secretary at WarFox Maule1851‡–February 1852
 successor not in cabinet
† became the Earl of Carlisle in 1848‡ denotes becoming a member of the cabinet, not gaining the office

Notes

Changes

List of ministers

Cabinet members are listed in bold face.

OfficeNameDateNotes
Prime Minister,
First Lord of the Treasury
and Leader of the House of Commons		Lord John Russell30 June 1846 – 21 February 1852The Government resigned 22 February 1851 and resumed 3 March 1851
Chancellor of the ExchequerSir Charles Wood, Bt6 July 1846 
Parliamentary Secretary to the TreasuryHenry Tufnell7 July 1846 
William Goodenough HayterJuly 1850 
Financial Secretary to the TreasuryJohn Parker7 July 1846 
22 May 1849
George Cornewall Lewis9 July 1850
Junior Lords of the TreasuryViscount Ebrington6 July 1846 – 22 December 1847the number of Junior Lordships was reduced from four to three in 1848
Denis O'Conor6 July 1846 – 2 August 1847
William Gibson-Craig6 July 1846 – 21 February 1852
Henry Rich6 July 1846 – 21 February 1852
Richard Bellew2 August 1847 – 21 February 1852
Earl of Shelburne22 December 1847 – August 1848
Lord ChancellorThe Lord Cottenham6 July 1846 
in commission19 June 1850
The Lord Truro15 July 1850
Lord President of the Council
and Leader of the House of Lords		The Marquess of Lansdowne6 July 1846 
Lord Privy SealThe Earl of Minto6 July 1846 
Secretary of State for the Home DepartmentSir George Grey, Bt6 July 1846 
Under-Secretary of State for the Home DepartmentSir William Somerville, Bt5 July 1846 
Sir Denis Le Marchant, Bt22 July 1847
George Cornewall Lewis15 May 1848
Edward Pleydell-Bouverie9 July 1850
Secretary of State for Foreign AffairsThe Viscount Palmerston6 July 1846 
The Earl Granville26 December 1851
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign AffairsEdward Stanley6 July 1846 
Austen Henry Layard12 February 1852
Secretary of State for War and the ColoniesThe Earl Grey6 July 1846 
Under-Secretary of State for War and the ColoniesBenjamin Hawes6 July 1846 
Frederick Peel1 November 1851
President of the Board of ControlSir John Hobhouse, Bt8 July 1846 
Fox Maule5 February 1852
Joint Secretaries to the Board of ControlGeorge Byng6 July 1846 – 30 November 1847 
Thomas Wyse6 July 1846 – 26 January 1849
George Cornewall Lewis30 November 1847 – 16 May 1848
James Wilson16 May 1848 – 21 February 1852
John Elliot26 January 1849 – 21 February 1852
First Lord of the AdmiraltyThe Earl of Auckland7 July 1846 
Sir Francis Baring, Bt15 January 1849
First Secretary of the AdmiraltyHenry George Ward13 July 1846 
John Parker21 May 1849
Civil Lord of the AdmiraltyWilliam Cowper7 July 1846 
Chief Secretary for IrelandHenry Labouchere6 July 1846 
Sir William Somerville, Bt22 July 1847
Lord Lieutenant of IrelandThe Earl of Bessborough8 July 1846 
The Earl of Clarendon22 May 1847
Chancellor of the Duchy of LancasterThe Lord Campbell6 July 1846 
The Earl of Carlisle6 March 1850
Paymaster GeneralThomas Babington Macaulay7 July 1846 
The Earl Granville8 May 1848entered the Cabinet October 1851
The Lord Stanley of Alderley12 February 1852 
Postmaster-GeneralThe Marquess of Clanricarde7 July 1846 
President of the Board of TradeThe Earl of Clarendon6 July 1846 
Henry Labouchere22 July 1847
Vice-President of the Board of TradeThomas Milner Gibson8 July 1846 
The Earl Granville8 May 1848
The Lord Stanley of Alderley11 February 1852
First Commissioner of Woods and ForestsViscount Morpeth7 July 1846succeeded as 7th Earl of Carlisle 7 October 1848
Lord Seymour17 April 1849office abolished 1 August 1851
First Commissioner of WorksLord Seymour1 August 1851entered the Cabinet October 1851
Master-General of the OrdnanceThe Marquess of Anglesey8 July 1846 
Surveyor-General of the OrdnanceCharles Richard Fox8 July 1846 
Clerk of the OrdnanceGeorge Anson8 July 1846 
Storekeeper of the OrdnanceSir Thomas Hastings25 July 1845continued in office
President of the Poor Law BoardCharles Buller23 July 1847 
Matthew Talbot Baines1 January 1849
Parliamentary Secretary to the Poor Law BoardViscount Ebrington23 July 1847 
Ralph William Grey28 January 1851
Secretary at WarFox Maule6 July 1846 
Robert Vernon Smith6 February 1852
Attorney GeneralSir Thomas Wilde7 July 1846 
Sir John Jervis17 July 1846
Sir John Romilly11 July 1850
Sir Alexander Cockburn, Bt28 March 1851
Solicitor GeneralJohn Jervis7 July 1846 
Sir David Dundas18 July 1846
Sir John Romilly4 April 1848
Sir Alexander Cockburn, Bt11 July 1850
Sir William Page Wood28 March 1851
Judge Advocate GeneralCharles Buller8 July 1846 
William Goodenough Hayter22 December 1847
Sir David Dundas26 May 1849
Lord AdvocateAndrew Rutherfurd6 July 1846 
James Moncreiff7 April 1851
Solicitor General for ScotlandThomas Maitland6 July 1846 
James Moncreiff7 February 1850
John Cowan18 April 1851
George Deas28 June 1851
Attorney General for IrelandRichard Moore16 July 1846 
James Henry Monahan21 December 1847
John Hatchell23 September 1850
Solicitor General for IrelandJames Henry Monahan16 July 1846 
John Hatchell24 December 1847
Henry George Hughes26 September 1850
Lord Steward of the HouseholdThe Earl Fortescue8 July 1846 
The Marquess of Westminster22 March 1850
Lord Chamberlain of the HouseholdThe Earl Spencer8 July 1846 
The Marquess of Breadalbane5 September 1848
Vice-Chamberlain of the HouseholdLord Edward Howard8 July 1846 
Master of the HorseThe Duke of Norfolk11 July 1846 
Treasurer of the HouseholdLord Robert Grosvenor3 August 1846 
Lord Marcus Hill23 July 1847
Comptroller of the HouseholdLord Marcus Hill6 July 1846 
William Lascelles23 July 1847
Earl of Mulgrave23 July 1851
Captain of the Gentlemen-at-ArmsThe Lord Foley24 July 1846 
Captain of the Yeomen of the GuardThe Viscount Falkland24 July 1846 
The Marquess of Donegal11 February 1848
Master of the BuckhoundsThe Earl Granville9 July 1846 
The Earl of Bessborough16 May 1848
Chief Equerry and Clerk MarshalLord Alfred Paget7 July 1846 
Mistress of the RobesThe Duchess of Sutherland4 July 1846 
Lords in WaitingThe Earl of Morley24 July 1846 – 21 February 1852 
The Earl of Ducie24 July 1846 – 1 December 1847
The Lord Waterpark24 July 1846 – 21 February 1852
The Lord Camoys4 August 1846 – 21 February 1852
The Earl of Morton10 September 1841 – 26 June 1849
The Marquess of Ormonde10 September 1841 – 21 February 1852
The Lord Elphinstone1 December 1847 – 21 February 1852
Lord Dufferin and Clandeboye26 June 1849 – 21 February 1852

References

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