Shelburne ministry

This is a list of the principal holders of government office during the premiership of the Earl of Shelburne between July 1782 and April 1783.

Shelburne ministry
1782–1783
Shelburne (1791)
Date formed	4 July 1782 (1782-07-04)
Date dissolved	26 March 1783 (1783-03-26)
People and organisations
Monarch	George III
Prime Minister	Lord Shelburne
Total no. of members	16 appointments
Member parties	Chathamites Rockingham Whigs
Status in legislature	Majority (coalition) 282 / 558 (51%)
Opposition parties	Foxites Grenvillites
Opposition leaders	Charles James Fox Lord North
History
Legislature terms	15th GB Parliament
Predecessor	Second Rockingham ministry
Successor	Fox–North coalition

Upon the fall of the North ministry in March 1782, Whig Lord Rockingham became Prime Minister for a second time. He died in office four months later, and Home Secretary Lord Shelburne was invited to form a government. However, Charles James Fox and several other former Rockinghamites (including Cavendish and Burke) refused to serve under Shelburne and went into opposition. The Foxites allied with the supporters of Lord North to bring down the government, and the Fox–North coalition came to power in April 1783. This government did not long survive the hostility of King George III, and many of Shelburne's ministers returned to office under the leadership of William Pitt the Younger in December 1783, though Shelburne himself was consoled with the title Marquess of Lansdowne.

Cabinet

Portfolio	Minister	Took office	Left office	Party
First Lord of the Treasury	The Earl of Shelburne (head of ministry)	4 July 1782 (1782-07-04)	26 March 1783 (1783-03-26)		Whig
Lord Chancellor	The Lord Thurlow	3 June 1778 (1778-06-03)	7 April 1783 (1783-04-07)		Independent
Lord President of the Council	The Lord Camden	27 March 1782 (1782-03-27)	2 April 1783 (1783-04-02)		Whig
Lord Privy Seal	The Duke of Grafton	1782 (1782)	1783 (1783)		Whig
Chancellor of the Exchequer	William Pitt the Younger	10 July 1782 (1782-07-10)	31 March 1783 (1783-03-31)		Whig
Secretary of State for the Home Department	Thomas Townshend	10 July 1782 (1782-07-10)	2 April 1783 (1783-04-02)		Whig
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs First Lord of Trade	The Lord Grantham	13 July 1782 (1782-07-13) / 9 December 1780 (1780-12-09)	2 April 1783 (1783-04-02)		Whig
First Lord of the Admiralty	The Viscount Keppel	1782 (1782)	1783 (1783)		Whig
	The Viscount Howe	1783 (1783)	1788 (1788)		Independent
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	The Lord Ashburton	17 April 1782 (1782-04-17)	29 August 1783 (1783-08-29)		Independent
Master-General of the Ordnance	The Duke of Richmond	1782 (1782)	1783 (1783)		Whig

Changes

• January 1783 – Lord Howe succeeds Lord Keppel at the Admiralty.

Ministers not in Cabinet

• Henry Seymour Conway – Commander-in-Chief of the Forces
• Henry Dundas – Treasurer of the Navy
• Sir George Yonge – Secretary at War
• Isaac Barré – Paymaster of the Forces
• The Duke of Rutland – Lord Steward of the Household

References

• Cook, Chris; Stevenson, John (1980). British Historical Facts: 1760–1830. Palgrave Macmillan UK. ISBN 978-0-333-21512-8.
• Sheridan, Richard Brinsley (1806). Memoir of the Life of The Right Honourable Charles James Fox. London: H. D. Symonds.