After the collapse of

Lord Derby Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869), known as Lord Stanley from 1834 to 1851, was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served three times as Prime Minister of the United K ...

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...

, the Whigs and

Peelite The Peelites were a breakaway political faction of the British Conservative Party from 1846 to 1859. Initially led by Robert Peel, the former Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader in 1846, the Peelites supported free trade whilst the bulk ...

s formed a coalition under the Peelite leader

George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (28 January 178414 December 1860), styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a British statesman, diplomat and landowner, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite politician and specialist in f ...

. The government resigned in early 1855 after a large parliamentary majority voted for a select committee to enquire into the incompetent management of the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

. The former Home Secretary,

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to 1865. A m ...

, then formed his first government.

Cabinet

December 1852 – February 1855

† After June 1854 office became

Secretary of State for War The secretary of state for war, commonly called the war secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The secretary of state for war headed the War Offic ...

Notes

*Lord John Russell served as

Leader of the House of Commons The Leader of the House of Commons is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom whose main role is organising government business in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The Leader is always a memb ...

from December 1852 to February 1855.

Changes

*February 1853: Lord John Russell becomes

Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

, remaining Leader of the Commons. Lord Clarendon succeeds him as Foreign Secretary. *June 1854: Lord Granville becomes Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Lord John Russell succeeds him as Lord President, remaining also Leader of the Commons. The Secretaryship of State for War and the Colonies is split up. The Duke of Newcastle stays on as Secretary of State for War, while Sir George Grey becomes Secretary of State for the Colonies.

List of ministers

Members of the Cabinet are indicated by bold face.

References

*C. Cook and B. Keith, ''British Historical Facts 1830–1900'' {{British ministries British ministries Coalition governments of the United Kingdom 1850s in the United Kingdom 1852 establishments in the United Kingdom 1855 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Ministries of Queen Victoria Cabinets established in 1852 Cabinets disestablished in 1855 George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen