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 OfficeNameTermFirst Lord of the TreasuryLeader of the House of CommonsLord John RussellJuly 1846 – February 1852Lord ChancellorCharles Pepys, 1st Baron CottenhamJuly 1846 – July 1850 Thomas Wilde, 1st Baron TruroJuly 1850 – February 1852Lord President of the CouncilLeader of the House of LordsHenry Petty-FitzMaurice, 3rd Marquess of LansdowneJuly 1846 – February 1852Lord Privy SealGilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 2nd Earl of MintoJuly 1846 – February 1852Home SecretarySir George Grey, 2nd BaronetJuly 1846 – February 1852Foreign SecretaryHenry Temple, 3rd Viscount PalmerstonJuly 1846 – December 1851 Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl GranvilleDecember 1851 – February 1852Secretary of State for War and the ColoniesHenry Grey, 3rd Earl GreyJuly 1846 – February 1852Chancellor of the ExchequerSir Charles WoodJuly 1846 – February 1852First Lord of the AdmiraltyGeorge Eden, 1st Earl of AucklandJuly 1846 – January 1849 Sir Francis BaringJanuary 1849 – February 1852President of the Board of ControlSir John Cam Hobhouse, BtJuly 1846 – February 1852 Fox MauleFebruary 1852President of the Board of TradeGeorge Villiers, 4th Earl of ClarendonJuly 1846 – July 1847 Henry LabouchereJuly 1847 – February 1852Chancellor of the Duchy of LancasterJohn Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell of St AndrewsJuly 1846 – March 1850 George Howard, 7th Earl of CarlisleMarch 1850 – February 1852First Commissioner of Woods and ForestsGeorge Howard, Baron Morpeth†July 1846 – July 1850 Edward Seymour, Baron SeymourJuly 1850 – February 1852Chief Secretary for IrelandHenry LabouchereJuly 1846 – July 1847 successor not in cabinetPostmaster GeneralUlick John de Burgh, 1st Marquess of ClanricardeJuly 1846 – February 1852Paymaster GeneralThomas Babington MacaulayJuly 1846 – July 1847 successor not in cabinet Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville1851‡–December 1851 successor not in cabinetSecretary 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 Lord Carlisle served as both Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and First Commissioner of Woods and Forests between March and July 1850.
Changes July 1847: Henry Labouchere succeeds Lord Clarendon as President of the Board of Trade. Labouchere's successor as Chief Secretary for Ireland is not in the cabinet. Thomas Babington Macaulay leaves the cabinet. His successor as Paymaster-General is not in the Cabinet. January 1849: Sir Francis Baring succeeds Lord Auckland as First Lord of the Admiralty March 1850: Lord Carlisle succeeds Lord Campbell as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He remains First Commissioner of Woods and Forests July 1850: Lord Truro succeeds Lord Cottenham as Lord Chancellor. Lord Seymour succeeds Lord Carlisle as First Commissioner of Woods and Forests. Lord Carlisle remains Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. 1851: Fox Maule, the Secretary at War, and Lord Granville, the Paymaster-General, enter the Cabinet December 1851: Lord Granville succeeds Lord Palmerston as Foreign Secretary. Granville's successor as Paymaster-General is not in the Cabinet February 1852: Fox Maule succeeds Sir John Cam Hobhouse as President of the Board of Control. Maule's successor as Secretary at War is not in the Cabinet.
List of ministers Cabinet members are listed in bold face. OfficeNameDateNotesPrime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of CommonsLord John Russell30 June 1846 – 21 February 1852The Government resigned 22 February 1851 and resumed 3 March 1851Chancellor of the ExchequerSir Charles Wood, 3rd Baronet6 July 1846 Parliamentary Secretary to the TreasuryHenry Tufnell7 July 1846 William Goodenough HayterJuly 1850 Financial Secretary to the TreasuryJohn Parker7 July 1846 William Goodenough Hayter 22 May 1849George Cornewall Lewis9 July 1850Junior Lords of the TreasuryHugh Fortescue, Viscount Ebrington6 July 1846 – 22 December 1847the number of Junior Lordships was reduced from four to three in 1848Denis O'Conor6 July 1846 – 2 August 1847William Gibson-Craig6 July 1846 – 21 February 1852Henry Rich6 July 1846 – 21 February 1852Richard Bellew2 August 1847 – 21 February 1852Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, Earl of Shelburne22 December 1847 – August 1848Lord ChancellorCharles Pepys, 1st Baron Cottenham6 July 1846 in commission19 June 1850Thomas Wilde, 1st Baron Truro15 July 1850Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of LordsHenry Petty-FitzMaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne6 July 1846 Lord Privy SealGilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 2nd Earl of Minto6 July 1846 Secretary of State for the Home DepartmentSir George Grey, 2nd Baronet6 July 1846 Under-Secretary of State for the Home DepartmentSir William Somerville, 5th Baronet5 July 1846 Sir Denis Le Marchant, 1st Baronet22 July 1847George Cornewall Lewis15 May 1848Edward Pleydell-Bouverie9 July 1850Secretary of State for Foreign AffairsHenry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston6 July 1846 Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville26 December 1851Under-Secretary of State for Foreign AffairsEdward Stanley6 July 1846 Austen Henry Layard12 February 1852Secretary of State for War and the ColoniesHenry Grey, 3rd Earl Grey6 July 1846 Under-Secretary of State for War and the ColoniesBenjamin Hawes6 July 1846 Frederick Peel1 November 1851President of the Board of ControlSir John Hobhouse, 2nd Baronet8 July 1846 Fox Maule5 February 1852Joint Secretaries to the Board of ControlGeorge Byng6 July 1846 – 30 November 1847 Thomas Wyse6 July 1846 – 26 January 1849George Cornewall Lewis30 November 1847 – 16 May 1848James Wilson16 May 1848 – 21 February 1852John Elliot26 January 1849 – 21 February 1852First Lord of the AdmiraltyGeorge Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland7 July 1846 Sir Francis Baring, 3rd Baronet15 January 1849First Secretary of the AdmiraltyHenry George Ward13 July 1846 John Parker21 May 1849Civil Lord of the AdmiraltyWilliam Cowper7 July 1846 Chief Secretary for IrelandHenry Labouchere6 July 1846 Sir William Somerville, 5th Baronet22 July 1847Lord Lieutenant of IrelandJohn Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough8 July 1846 George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon22 May 1847Chancellor of the Duchy of LancasterJohn Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell6 July 1846 George Howard, 7th Earl of Carlisle6 March 1850Paymaster GeneralThomas Babington Macaulay7 July 1846 Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville8 May 1848entered the Cabinet October 1851Edward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley12 February 1852 Postmaster-GeneralUlick de Burgh, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde7 July 1846 President of the Board of TradeGeorge Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon6 July 1846 Henry Labouchere22 July 1847Vice-President of the Board of TradeThomas Milner Gibson8 July 1846 Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville8 May 1848Edward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley11 February 1852First Commissioner of Woods and ForestsGeorge Howard, Viscount Morpeth7 July 1846succeeded as 7th Earl of Carlisle 7 October 1848Edward Seymour, Baron Seymour17 April 1849office abolished 1 August 1851First Commissioner of WorksEdward Seymour, Baron Seymour1 August 1851entered the Cabinet October 1851Master-General of the OrdnanceHenry Paget, 1st 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 officePresident of the Poor Law BoardCharles Buller23 July 1847 Matthew Talbot Baines1 January 1849Parliamentary Secretary to the Poor Law BoardHugh Fortescue, Viscount Ebrington23 July 1847 Ralph William Grey28 January 1851Secretary at WarFox Maule6 July 1846 Robert Vernon Smith6 February 1852Attorney GeneralSir Thomas Wilde7 July 1846 Sir John Jervis17 July 1846Sir John Romilly11 July 1850Sir Alexander Cockburn, 12th Baronet28 March 1851Solicitor GeneralJohn Jervis7 July 1846 Sir David Dundas18 July 1846Sir John Romilly4 April 1848Sir Alexander Cockburn, 12th Baronet11 July 1850Sir William Page Wood28 March 1851Judge Advocate GeneralCharles Buller8 July 1846 William Goodenough Hayter22 December 1847Sir David Dundas26 May 1849Lord AdvocateAndrew Rutherfurd6 July 1846 James Moncreiff7 April 1851Solicitor General for ScotlandThomas Maitland6 July 1846 James Moncreiff7 February 1850John Cowan18 April 1851George Deas28 June 1851Attorney General for IrelandRichard Moore16 July 1846 James Henry Monahan21 December 1847John Hatchell23 September 1850Solicitor General for IrelandJames Henry Monahan16 July 1846 John Hatchell24 December 1847Henry George Hughes26 September 1850Lord Steward of the HouseholdHugh Fortescue, 2nd Earl Fortescue8 July 1846 Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster22 March 1850Lord Chamberlain of the HouseholdFrederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer8 July 1846 John Campbell, 2nd Marquess of Breadalbane5 September 1848Vice-Chamberlain of the HouseholdLord Edward Howard8 July 1846 Master of the HorseHenry Fitzalan-Howard, 13th Duke of Norfolk11 July 1846 Treasurer of the HouseholdLord Robert Grosvenor3 August 1846 Lord Marcus Hill23 July 1847Comptroller of the HouseholdLord Marcus Hill6 July 1846 William Lascelles23 July 1847George Phipps, 2nd Earl of Mulgrave23 July 1851Captain of the Gentlemen-at-ArmsThomas Foley, 4th Baron Foley24 July 1846 Captain of the Yeomen of the GuardLucius Cary, 10th Viscount Falkland24 July 1846 George Chichester, 3rd Marquess of Donegall11 February 1848Master of the BuckhoundsGranville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville9 July 1846 John Ponsonby, 5th Earl of Bessborough16 May 1848Chief Equerry and Clerk MarshalLord Alfred Paget7 July 1846 Mistress of the RobesHarriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland4 July 1846 Lords in WaitingEdmund Parker, 2nd Earl of Morley24 July 1846 – 21 February 1852 Henry Reynolds-Moreton, 2nd Earl of Ducie24 July 1846 – 1 December 1847Henry Cavendish, 3rd Baron Waterpark24 July 1846 – 21 February 1852Thomas Stonor, 3rd Baron Camoys4 August 1846 – 21 February 1852George Douglas, 17th Earl of Morton10 September 1841 – 26 June 1849John Butler, 2nd Marquess of Ormonde10 September 1841 – 21 February 1852John Elphinstone, 13th Lord Elphinstone1 December 1847 – 21 February 1852Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 5th Baron Dufferin and Clandeboye26 June 1849 – 21 February 1852
References C. Cook and B. Keith, British Historical Facts 1830–1900