After the collapse of Lord Derby's minority government, the Whigs and Peelites formed a coalition under the Peelite leader George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen. 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 former Home Secretary, Lord Palmerston, then formed his first government.

Cabinet

December 1852 – February 1855

† After June 1854 office became Secretary of State for War.

Notes

Lord John Russell served as Leader of the House of Commons from December 1852 to February 1855.

Changes February 1853: Lord John Russell becomes Minister without Portfolio, 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. OfficeNamePartyDateNotesPrime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of LordsGeorge Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of AberdeenPeelite19 December 1852 – 30 January 1855 Chancellor of the ExchequerWilliam Ewart GladstonePeelite30 December 1852 Parliamentary Secretary to the TreasuryWilliam Goodenough HayterWhig5 January 1853 Financial Secretary to the TreasuryJames WilsonWhig5 January 1853 Junior Lords of the TreasuryLord Alfred HerveyPeelite1 January 1853 – 7 March 1855 Francis Charteris, Lord ElchoWhig1 January 1853 – 7 March 1855John SadleirIndependent Irish Party1 January 1853 – 6 March 1854Chichester FortescueWhig6 March 1854 – 16 April 1855Lord ChancellorRobert Rolfe, 1st Baron CranworthWhig28 December 1852 Lord President of the CouncilGranville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl GranvilleWhig28 December 1852 Lord John RussellWhig12 June 1854also Leader of the House of CommonsLord Privy SealGeorge Campbell, 8th Duke of ArgyllPeelite4 January 1853 Secretary of State for the Home DepartmentHenry John Temple, 3rd Viscount PalmerstonWhig28 December 1852 Under-Secretary of State for the Home DepartmentHenry FitzroyPeelite28 December 1852 Secretary of State for Foreign AffairsLord John RussellWhig28 December 1852also Leader of the House of CommonsGeorge Villiers, 4th Earl of ClarendonWhig21 February 1853 Under-Secretary of State for Foreign AffairsJohn Wodehouse, 3rd Baron WodehouseWhig28 December 1852 Secretary of State for War and the ColoniesHenry Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of NewcastlePeelite28 December 1852department abolished 10 June 1854Under-Secretary of State for War and the ColoniesFrederick PeelPeelite28 December 1852Secretary of State for WarHenry Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of NewcastlePeelite12 June 1854 Under-Secretary of State for WarHenry Roberts 12 June 1854 Secretary of State for the ColoniesSir George Grey, 2nd BaronetWhig12 June 1854 Under-Secretary of State for the ColoniesFrederick PeelWhig12 June 1854 First Lord of the AdmiraltySir James Graham, 2nd BaronetPeelite30 December 1852 First Secretary of the AdmiraltyRalph Bernal OsborneWhig6 January 1853 Civil Lord of the AdmiraltyWilliam Francis CowperWhig30 December 1852 President of the Board of ControlSir Charles Wood, 3rd BaronetWhig30 December 1852 Joint Secretaries to the Board of ControlRobert LoweWhig30 December 1852 Sir Thomas RedingtonWhig30 December 1852(permanent)Chancellor of the Duchy of LancasterEdward StruttRadical3 January 1853 Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl GranvilleWhig21 June 1854Minister without PortfolioHenry Petty-FitzMaurice, 3rd Marquess of LansdowneWhig28 December 1852 – 21 February 1858 Lord John RussellWhig26 February 1853 – 8 June 1854also Leader of the House of CommonsSecretary at WarSidney HerbertPeelite30 December 1852 First Commissioner of WorksSir William Molesworth, 8th BaronetRadical5 January 1853 President of the Board of HealthSir Benjamin Hall, 1st BaronetWhig14 January 1854 Chief Secretary for IrelandSir John Young, 2nd BaronetPeelite6 January 1853 Lord Lieutenant of IrelandEdward Eliot, 3rd Earl of St GermansPeelite5 January 1853 Master-General of the OrdnanceFitzroy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglannon-party30 September 1852continued in officeLieutenant-General of the OrdnanceSir Hew Dalrymple Rossnon-party6 May 1854 Surveyor-General of the OrdnanceLauderdale MauleWhig5 January 1853died 1 August 1854Clerk of the OrdnanceWilliam MonsellWhig13 January 1853 Storekeeper of the OrdnanceSir Thomas Hastingsnon-party25 July 1845continued in officePaymaster GeneralEdward John Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of AlderleyWhig5 January 1853 Postmaster-GeneralCharles Canning, 2nd Viscount CanningPeelite5 January 1853 President of the Poor Law BoardMatthew Talbot BainesWhig30 December 1852 Parliamentary Secretary to the Poor Law BoardGrenville BerkeleyWhig7 January 1853 President of the Board of TradeEdward CardwellPeelite28 December 1852 Vice-President of the Board of TradeEdward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of AlderleyWhig4 January 1853 Attorney GeneralSir Alexander Cockburn, 12th BaronetWhig28 December 1852 Solicitor GeneralSir Richard BethellWhig28 December 1852 Judge Advocate GeneralCharles Pelham VilliersWhig30 December 1852 Lord AdvocateJames MoncreiffWhig30 December 1852 Solicitor General for ScotlandRobert Handyside 17 January 1853 James Craufurd 16 November 1853Thomas Mackenzie 11 January 1855Attorney General for IrelandAbraham BrewsterPeeliteApril 1853 Solicitor General for IrelandWilliam KeoghIndependent Irish PartyApril 1853 Lord Steward of the HouseholdHenry Charles Fitzalan-Howard, 13th Duke of NorfolkWhig4 January 1853 Frederick Spencer, 4th Earl SpencerWhig10 January 1854Lord Chamberlain of the HouseholdJohn Campbell, 2nd Marquess of BreadalbaneWhig15 January 1853 Vice-Chamberlain of the HouseholdLord Ernest BrucePeelite30 December 1852 Master of the HorseArthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of WellingtonConservative21 January 1853 Treasurer of the HouseholdGeorge Phipps, Earl of MulgraveWhig4 January 1853 Comptroller of the HouseholdArchibald Douglas, Viscount DrumlanrigConservative4 January 1853 Captain of the Gentlemen-at-ArmsThomas Foley, 4th Baron FoleyWhig30 December 1852 Captain of the Yeomen of the GuardJohn Townshend, 3rd Viscount SydneyWhig;30 December 1852 Master of the BuckhoundsJohn Ponsonby, 5th Earl of BessboroughWhig30 December 1852 Chief Equerry and Clerk MarshalLord Alfred PagetWhig30 December 1852 Mistress of the RobesHarriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of SutherlandWhig15 January 1853 Lords in WaitingJohn Butler, 2nd Marquess of OrmondeWhig11 January 1853 – 25 September 1854 Charles Somers-Cocks, 3rd Earl SomersPeelite13 January 1853 – 22 February 1857Thomas Stonor, 3rd Baron CamoysWhig13 January 1853 – 21 February 1858John Elphinstone, 13th Lord ElphinstoneWhig13 January 1853 – 1 October 1853George Pitt-Rivers, 4th Baron RiversPeelite13 January 1853 – 21 February 1858Henry Cavendish, 3rd Baron WaterparkWhig13 January 1853 – 21 February 1858George Warren, 2nd Baron de TableyWhig13 January 1853 – 21 February 1858William Hare, 2nd Earl of ListowelWhig1 October 1853 – 21 February 1856Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 5th Baron Dufferin and ClandeboyeWhig28 November 1854 – 21 February 1858

References

C. Cook and B. Keith, British Historical Facts 1830–1900