# Who? Who? ministry

Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby led the "Who? Who?" ministry, a short-lived British Conservative government which was in power for a matter of months in 1852. Lord Derby was Prime Minister and Benjamin Disraeli served as Chancellor of the Exchequer. It marked the first time the protectionist wing of the Conservative Party had taken office since the Corn Laws schism of 1846. It is also called the First Derby–Disraeli ministry.
Early in 1852 Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, by then very deaf, gave Derby's first government its nickname by shouting "Who? Who?" as the list of inexperienced cabinet ministers was read out in the House of Lords.

## History

After the fall of Lord John Russell's Whig government in early 1852, the Conservative leader Lord Derby formed a government. The Conservatives had been weakened by the defection of the Peelites, and many of the new Cabinet ministers were men of little experience. The government became known as the "Who? Who?" Ministry after Wellington's comments, due to the lack of prominence of its ministers. The government was in a significant minority, and lasted less than a year, collapsing in December. The Whigs and Peelites then formed a coalition government under the Peelite leader Lord Aberdeen.
Though the government had little impact, it attracted derision through its plethora of new political names, which demonstrated the relative inexperience of the party. Only four members of the Cabinet (Derby himself, St Leonards, Lonsdale, and Herries) were existing Privy Councillors and many others were complete political unknowns.

## Cabinet

| Office | Minister | Tenure |
| First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords | Edward Smith-Stanley, Earl of Derby | February–December 1852 |
| Lord Chancellor | Edward Burtenshaw Sugden, Lord St Leonards | February–December 1852 |
| Lord President of the Council | William Lowther, Earl of Lonsdale | February–December 1852 |
| Lord Privy Seal | James Brownlow William Gascoyne-Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury | February–December 1852 |
| Home Secretary | Spencer H. Walpole | February–December 1852 |
| Foreign Secretary | James Howard Harris, Earl of Malmesbury | February–December 1852 |
| Secretary of State for War and the Colonies | Sir John Pakington, Bt | February–December 1852 |
| First Lord of the Admiralty | Algernon Percy, Duke of Northumberland | February–December 1852 |
| President of the Board of Control | J.C. Herries | February–December 1852 |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer Leader of the House of Commons | Benjamin Disraeli | February–December 1852 |
| President of the Board of Trade | J. W. Henley | February–December 1852 |
| First Commissioner of Works | Lord John Manners | February–December 1852 |
| Postmaster-General | Charles Philip Yorke, Earl of Hardwicke | February–December 1852 |

## List of ministers

Cabinet members are listed in bold face.
| Office | Minister | Tenure | Notes |
| Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Lords | Edward Smith-Stanley, Earl of Derby | 23 February 1852 – 17 December 1852 | |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons | Benjamin Disraeli | 27 February 1852 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury | William Forbes Mackenzie | 2 March 1852 | |
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | George Alexander Hamilton | 2 March 1852 | |
| Junior Lords of the Treasury | Richard Temple-Grenville, Marquess of Chandos | 28 February 1852 – 17 December 1852 | |
| Junior Lords of the Treasury | Lord Henry Lennox | 28 February 1852 – 17 December 1852 | |
| Junior Lords of the Treasury | Thomas Bateson | 28 February 1852 – 17 December 1852 | |
| Lord Chancellor | Edward Sugden, Lord St Leonards | 27 February 1852 | |
| Lord President of the Council | William Lowther, Earl of Lonsdale | 27 February 1852 | |
| Lord Privy Seal | James Gascoyne-Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury | 27 February 1852 | |
| Secretary of State for the Home Department | Spencer Horatio Walpole | 27 February 1852 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department | William Joliffe, Bt | 27 February 1852 | |
| Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | James Harris, Earl of Malmesbury | 27 February 1852 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | Lord Edward Stanley | 18 May 1852 | |
| Secretary of State for War and the Colonies | John Pakington, Bt | 17 February 1852 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies | John Cuffe, Earl of Desart | 2 March 1852 | |
| First Lord of the Admiralty | Algernon Percy, Duke of Northumberland | 28 February 1852 | |
| First Secretary of the Admiralty | Augustus Stafford | 3 March 1852 | |
| Civil Lord of the Admiralty | Arthur Duncombe | 28 February 1852 | |
| President of the Board of Control | J. C. Herries | 28 February 1852 | |
| Joint Secretaries to the Board of Control | Henry Baillie | 1 March 1852 – 17 December 1852 | |
| Joint Secretaries to the Board of Control | Charles Bruce | 1 March 1852 – 17 December 1852 | |
| Postmaster-General | Charles Yorke, Earl of Hardwicke | 1 March 1852 | |
| President of the Board of Trade | J. W. Henley | 17 February 1852 | |
| Vice-President of the Board of Trade | Charles Edward Abbot, Lord Colchester | 27 February 1852 | |
| First Commissioner of Works | Lord John Manners | 4 March 1852 | |
| Chief Secretary for Ireland | Richard Bourke, Lord Naas | 1 March 1852 | |
| Lord Lieutenant of Ireland | Archibald Montgomerie, Earl of Eglinton | 1 March 1852 | |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | Robert Adam Christopher | 1 March 1852 | |
| Master-General of the Ordnance | Henry Hardinge, Viscount Hardinge | 1 March 1852 | |
| Master-General of the Ordnance | Lord Fitzroy Somerset | 30 September 1852 | created Lord Raglan 20 October 1852 |
| Surveyor-General of the Ordnance | George Berkeley | 18 June 1852 | |
| Clerk of the Ordnance | Francis Plunkett Dunne | 5 March 1852 | |
| Storekeeper of the Ordnance | Thomas Hastings | 25 July 1845 | continued in office |
| Paymaster General | Fitzroy Somerset, Lord Colchester | 28 February 1852 | |
| President of the Poor Law Board | John Trollope, Bt | 1 March 1852 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Poor Law Board | Frederick Knight | 3 March 1852 | |
| Secretary at War | William Beresford | 28 February 1852 | |
| Attorney General | Frederic Thesiger | 27 February 1852 | |
| Solicitor General | Fitzroy Kelly | 27 February 1852 | |
| Judge Advocate General | George Bankes | 28 February 1852 | |
| Lord Advocate | Adam Anderson | 28 February 1852 | |
| Lord Advocate | John Inglis | 19 May 1852 | |
| Solicitor General for Scotland | John Inglis | 28 February 1852 | |
| Solicitor General for Scotland | Charles Neaves | 24 May 1852 | |
| Attorney General for Ireland | Joseph Napier | February 1852 | |
| Solicitor General for Ireland | James Whiteside | February 1852 | |
| Lord Steward of the Household | James Graham, Duke of Montrose | 27 February 1852 | |
| Lord Chamberlain of the Household | Brownlow Cecil, Marquess of Exeter | 27 February 1852 | |
| Vice-Chamberlain of the Household | Orlando Bridgeman, Viscount Newport | 5 March 1852 | |
| Master of the Horse | George Child-Villiers, Earl of Jersey | 1 March 1852 | |
| Treasurer of the Household | Lord Claud Hamilton | 27 February 1852 | |
| Comptroller of the Household | George Weld-Forester | 27 February 1852 | |
| Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms | John Montagu, Earl of Sandwich | 27 February 1852 | |
| Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard | Lord William FitzGerald-de Ros | 27 February 1852 | |
| Master of the Buckhounds | James St Clair-Erskine, Earl of Rosslyn | 28 February 1852 | |
| Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal | Lord Charles Colville of Culross | 28 February 1852 | |
| Mistress of the Robes | Anne Murray, Duchess of Atholl | 16 March 1852 | |
| Lords in Waiting | George Douglas, Earl of Morton | 2 March 1852 – 17 December 1852 | |
| Lords in Waiting | James Grimston, Earl of Verulam | 2 March 1852 – 17 December 1852 | |
| Lords in Waiting | Cornwallis Maude, Viscount Hawarden | 2 March 1852 – 17 December 1852 | |
| Lords in Waiting | George Monckton-Arundell, Viscount Galway | 2 March 1852 – 17 December 1852 | |
| Lords in Waiting | Edward Crofton, Lord Crofton | 2 March 1852 – 17 December 1852 | |
| Lords in Waiting | Henry Hepburne-Scott, Lord Polwarth | 2 March 1852 – 17 December 1852 | |
| Lords in Waiting | Henry Chetwynd-Talbot, Earl Talbot | 2 March 1852 – 17 December 1852 | |