Second Rockingham ministry

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Second Rockingham ministry
Coat of arms of Great Britain (1714-1801).svg
March–July 1782
2nd Marquess of Rockingham (cropped).png
Rockingham (after Joshua Reynolds)
Date formed27 March 1782 (1782-03-27)
Date dissolved1 July 1782 (1782-07-01)
People and organisations
Monarch George III
Prime Minister Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham
Total no. of members16 appointments
Member party Rockingham Whigs
Status in legislature Majority
Opposition party Grenvillites
History
Legislature terms 15th GB Parliament
Predecessor North ministry
Successor Shelburne ministry

This is a list of the principal holders of government office during the second premiership of the Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham for four months in 1782.

Contents

History

The North ministry resigned on 22 March 1782 after losing the confidence of Parliament following the British defeat at the siege of Yorktown during the American War of Independence. Whig Lord Rockingham, Prime Minister from 1765 to 1766, formed a government. The Rockingham Whigs had generally been sympathetic to the cause of the Colonists and under Rockingham the British government began the negotiations leading to the Peace of Paris that concluded the war.

The death of Rockingham on 1 July 1782 caused a split in the ministry. The Home Secretary Lord Shelburne was appointed to succeed him, but several members of the government refused to serve under him and resigned. These "Portland Whigs" (named after their nominal leader, William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, but in reality led by Charles James Fox) allied in opposition with Lord North and brought down the Shelburne ministry in 1783. The Portland Whigs came to power as the Fox–North coalition.

Cabinet

PortfolioMinisterTook officeLeft office
(head of ministry)27 March 1782 (1782-03-27)1 July 1782 (1782-07-01)
Lord Chancellor 3 June 1778 (1778-06-03)7 April 1783 (1783-04-07)
Lord President of the Council 27 March 1782 (1782-03-27)2 April 1783 (1783-04-02)
Lord Privy Seal 1782 (1782)1783 (1783)
Chancellor of the Exchequer 27 March 1782 (1782-03-27)10 July 1782 (1782-07-10)
Secretary of State for the Home Department 27 March 1782 (1782-03-27)10 July 1782 (1782-07-10)
27 March 1782 (1782-03-27)5 July 1782 (1782-07-05)
First Lord of the Admiralty 1782 (1782)1783 (1783)
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 17 April 1782 (1782-04-17)29 August 1783 (1783-08-29)
Master-General of the Ordnance 1782 (1782)1783 (1783)
Commander-in-Chief of the Forces 1782 (1782)1783 (1783)

Ministers not in Cabinet

References

Preceded by Government of Great Britain
1782		Succeeded by
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