Second Disraeli ministry - Wikipedia

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Beaconsfield ministry
1874–1880
Disraeli as Lord Beaconsfield (1878)
Date formed	20 February 1874
Date dissolved	21 April 1880
People and organisations
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	Lord Beaconsfield
Total no. of members	108 appointments
Member party	Conservative Party
Status in legislature	Majority
Opposition party	Liberal Party
Opposition leaders	William Ewart Gladstone (1874–1875) Lord Hartington (1875–1880) in the House of Commons Lord Granville in the House of Lords
History
Election	1874 general election
Outgoing election	1880 general election
Legislature terms	21st UK Parliament
Predecessor	First Gladstone ministry
Successor	Second Gladstone ministry

Benjamin Disraeli was appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for a second time by Queen Victoria after William Ewart Gladstone's government was defeated in the 1874 general election. Disraeli's foreign policy was seen as immoral by Gladstone, and following the latter's Midlothian campaign, the government was heavily defeated in the 1880 general election, whereupon Gladstone formed his second government. The ailing Disraeli, by now created Earl of Beaconsfield, died in April 1881.

Office	Name	Term
First Lord of the Treasury	Benjamin Disraeli†	February 1874 – April 1880
Lord Chancellor	The Lord Cairns§	February 1874 – April 1880
Lord President of the Council	The Duke of Richmond	February 1874 – April 1880
Lord Privy Seal	The Earl of Malmesbury	February 1874 – August 1876
The Earl of Beaconsfield	August 1876 – April 1878
The Duke of Northumberland	April 1878 – April 1880
Home Secretary	Richard A. Cross	February 1874 – April 1880
Foreign Secretary	The Earl of Derby	February 1874 – April 1878
The Marquess of Salisbury	April 1878 – April 1880
Secretary of State for the Colonies	The Earl of Carnarvon	February 1874 – February 1878
Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, Bt	February 1878 – April 1880
Secretary of State for War	Gathorne Hardy‡	February 1874 – April 1878
Sir Frederick Stanley	April 1878 – April 1880
Secretary of State for India	The Marquess of Salisbury	February 1874 – April 1878
The Viscount Cranbrook	April 1878 – April 1880
Chancellor of the Exchequer	Sir Stafford Northcote, Bt	February 1874 – April 1880
First Lord of the Admiralty	George Ward Hunt	February 1874 – August 1877
William Henry Smith	August 1877 – April 1880
President of the Board of Trade	Viscount Sandon	April 1878 – April 1880
Postmaster General	Lord John Manners	February 1874 – April 1880
Chief Secretary for Ireland	Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, Bt	August 1877 – February 1878
incumbent not in the cabinet
Leader of the House of Commons	Benjamin Disraeli	February 1874 – August 1876
Sir Stafford Northcote, Bt	August 1876 – April 1880
Leader of the House of Lords	The Duke of Richmond	February 1874 – August 1876
The Earl of Beaconsfield	August 1876 – April 1880

† The Earl of Beaconsfield from August 1876.
§ The Earl Cairns from September 1878.
‡ The Viscount Cranbrook from May 1878.

• The Earl of Beaconsfield served as both First Lord of the Treasury and Lord Privy Seal from August 1876 to April 1878.

• August 1876: Beaconsfield succeeds the Earl of Malmesbury as Lord Privy Seal while remaining First Lord of the Treasury.
• August 1877: George Ward Hunt dies and is succeeded as First Lord of the Admiralty by William Henry Smith. Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, the Chief Secretary for Ireland, enters the cabinet.
• February 1878: Sir Michael Hicks-Beach succeeds the Earl of Carnarvon as Colonial Secretary. Hicks-Beach's successor as Chief Secretary for Ireland is not in the cabinet.
• April 1878: The Duke of Northumberland succeeds Beaconsfield as Lord Privy Seal; the latter remains First Lord of the Treasury. The Marquess of Salisbury succeeds the Earl of Derby as Foreign Secretary. The Viscount Cranbrook succeeds Salisbury at the India Office. Sir Frederick Stanley succeeds Cranbrook at the War Office.

Cabinet members are listed in bold face.

Notes

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