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. One of the major problems facing the government was the Irish potato famine, 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. 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.

Office	Name	Date	Notes
Prime Minister	Lord John Russell	30 June 1846-21 February 1852	The Government resigned 22 February 1851 and resumed 3 March 1851
Chancellor of the Exchequer	Sir Charles Wood	6 July 1846
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury	Henry Tufnell	7 July 1846
Financial Secretary to the Treasury	John Parker	7 July 1846
	William Goodenough Hayter	22 May 1849
	Sir George Cornewall Lewis	9 July 1850
Junior Lords of the Treasury	Viscount Ebrington	6 July 1846-22 December 1847	the number of Junior Lordships was reduced from four to three in 1848
	The O'Conor Don	6 July 1846-2 August 1847
	(Sir) William Gibson Craig	6 July 1846-21 February 1852
	Henry Rich	6 July 1846-21 February 1852
	Richard Montesquieu Bellew	2 August 1847-21 February 1852
	Earl of Shelburne	22 December 1847-August 1848
Lord Chancellor	Lord Cottenham	6 July 1846
	in commission	19 June 1850
	Lord Truro	15 July 1850
Lord President of the Council	The Marquess of Lansdowne	6 July 1846
Lord Privy Seal	The Earl of Minto	6 July 1846
Secretary of State for the Home Department	Sir George Grey	6 July 1846
Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department	Sir W. Somerville	5 July 1846
	Sir Denis Le Marchant	22 July 1847
	George Cornewall Lewis	15 May 1848
	E.P. Bouverie	9 July 1850
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	Viscount Palmerston	6 July 1846
	The Earl Granville	26 December 1851
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	Edward John Stanley	6 July 1846
	Austen Henry Layard	12 February 1852
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies	The Earl Grey	6 July 1846
Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies	B. Hawes	6 July 1846
	F. Peel	1 November 1851
President of the Board of Control	Sir John Cam Hobhouse	8 July 1846
	Fox Maule	5 February 1852
Joint Secretaries to the Board of Control	G.S. Byng	6 July 1846-30 November 1847
	T. Wyse	6 July 1846-26 January 1849
	George Cornewall Lewis	30 November 1847-16 May 1848
	J. Wilson	16 May 1848-21 February 1852
	J. Elliot	26 January 1849-21 February 1852
First Lord of the Admiralty	The Earl of Auckland	7 July 1846
	Sir Francis Thornhill Baring	15 January 1849
First Secretary of the Admiralty	H.G. Ward	13 July 1846
	J. Parker	21 May 1849
Civil Lord of the Admiralty	W.F. Cowper	7 July 1846
Chief Secretary for Ireland	Henry Labouchere	6 July 1846
	Sir William Somerville	22 July 1847
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland	The Earl of Bessborough	8 July 1846
	The Earl of Clarendon	22 May 1847
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	Lord Campbell of St Andrews	6 July 1846
	The Earl of Carlisle	6 March 1850
Paymaster-General	Thomas Babington Macaulay	7 July 1846
	The Earl Granville	8 May 1848	entered the Cabinet October 1851
	The Lord Stanley of Alderley	12 February 1852
Postmaster-General	The Marquess of Clanricarde	7 July 1846
President of the Board of Trade	The Earl of Clarendon	6 July 1846
	Henry Labouchere	22 July 1847
Vice-President of the Board of Trade	Thomas Milner Gibson	8 July 1846
	Earl Granville	8 May 1848
	Lord Stanley of Alderley	11 February 1852
First Commissioner of Woods and Forests	Viscount Morpeth	7 July 1846	succeeded as 7th Earl of Carlisle 7 October 1848
	Lord Seymour	17 April 1849	office abolished 1 August 1851
First Commissioner of Works	Lord Seymour	1 August 1851	entered the Cabinet October 1851
Master-General of the Ordnance	The Marquess of Anglesey	8 July 1846
Surveyor-General of the Ordnance	C.R. Fox	8 July 1846
Clerk of the Ordnance	G. Anson	8 July 1846
Storekeeper of the Ordnance	Sir T. Hastings	25 July 1845	continued in office
President of the Poor Law Board	Charles Buller	23 July 1847
	Matthew Talbot Baines	1 January 1849
Parliamentary Secretary to the Poor Law Board	Viscount Ebrington	23 July 1847
	R.W. Grey	28 January 1851
Secretary at War	Fox Maule	6 July 1846
	Robert Vernon Smith	6 February 1852
Attorney General	Sir Thomas Wilde	7 July 1846
	Sir John Jervis	17 July 1846
	Sir John Romilly	11 July 1850
	Sir Alexander Cockburn	28 March 1851
Solicitor General	John Jervis	7 July 1846
	Sir David Dundas	18 July 1846
	Sir John Romilly	4 April 1848
	Sir Alexander Cockburn	11 July 1850
	Sir William Page Wood	28 March 1851
Judge Advocate General	Charles Buller	8 July 1846
	W.G. Hayter	22 December 1847
	Sir David Dundas	26 May 1849
Lord Advocate	A. Rutherfurd	6 July 1846
	J. Montcrieff	7 April 1851
Solicitor General for Scotland	T. Maitland	6 July 1846
	J. Montcrieff	7 February 1850
	J. Cowan	18 April 1851
	G. Deas	28 June 1851
Attorney General for Ireland	R. Moore	16 July 1846
	J.H. Monahan	21 December 1847
	J. Hatchell	23 September 1850
Solicitor General for Ireland	J.H. Monahan	16 July 1846
	J. Hatchell	24 December 1847
	H.G. Hughes	26 September 1850
Lord Steward of the Household	The Earl Fortescue	8 July 1846
	The Marquess of Westminster	22 March 1850
Lord Chamberlain of the Household	The Earl Spencer	8 July 1846
	The Marquess of Breadalbane	5 September 1848
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household	Lord E. Howard	8 July 1846
Master of the Horse	The Duke of Norfolk	11 July 1846
Treasurer of the Household	Lord Robert Grosvenor	3 August 1846
	Lord M. Hill	23 July 1847
Comptroller of the Household	Lord M. Hill	6 July 1846
	William Saunders Lascelles	23 July 1847
	Earl of Mulgrave	23 July 1851
Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms	Lord Foley	24 July 1846
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard	Viscount Falkland	24 July 1846
	The Marquess of Donegal	11 February 1848
Master of the Buckhounds	The Earl Granville	9 July 1846
	The Earl of Bessborough	16 May 1848
Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal	Lord Alfred Paget	7 July 1846
Mistress of the Robes	The Duchess of Sutherland	4 July 1846
Lords in Waiting	The Earl of Morley	24 July 1846-21 February 1852
	The Earl of Ducie	24 July 1846-1 December 1847
	Lord Waterpark	24 July 1846-21 February 1852
	Lord Camoys	4 August 1846-21 February 1852
	The Earl of Morton	10 September 1841-26 June 1849
	The Marquess of Ormonde	10 September 1841-21 February 1852
	Lord Elphinstone	1 December 1847-21 February 1852
	Lord Dufferin and Clandeboye	26 June 1849-21 February 1852

Source: C. Cook and B. Keith, British Historical Facts 1830-1900