page_title: Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
section_title: Lord Palmerston's First Cabinet, February 1855 – February 1858
hierarchical_section_title: Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston / Lord Palmerston's First Cabinet, February 1855 – February 1858
caption_attribution_description: English: Lord Palmerston addressing the House of Commons. Public domain image from Illustrated London News
context_page_description: Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC, FRS was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period 1830 to 1865, when Britain stood at the height of its imperial power. He held office almost continuously from 1807 until his death in 1865. He began his parliamentary career as a Tory, defected to the Whigs in 1830, and became the first Prime Minister of the newly-formed Liberal Party in 1859.
  Palmerston succeeded to his father's Irish peerage in 1802. He became a Tory MP in 1807. From 1809 to 1828 he served as Secretary at War, organising the finances of the army. He first attained Cabinet rank in 1827, when George Canning became Prime Minister, but like other Canningites, he resigned from office one year later.
  He served as Foreign Secretary 1830–34, 1835–41, and 1846–51. In this office, Palmerston responded effectively to a series of conflicts in Europe. His belligerent actions as Foreign Secretary, some of which were highly controversial, have been regarded as prototypes of the practice of liberal interventionism.
context_section_description: Lord Palmerston – First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Commons
  Lord Cranworth – Lord Chancellor
  Lord Granville – Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Lords
  The Duke of Argyll – Lord Privy Seal
  Sir George Grey – Secretary of State for the Home Department
  Lord Clarendon – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
  Sidney Herbert – Secretary of State for the Colonies
  Lord Panmure – Secretary of State for War
  Sir James Graham – First Lord of the Admiralty
  William Ewart Gladstone – Chancellor of the Exchequer
  Sir Charles Wood – President of the Board of Control
  Lord Stanley of Alderley – President of the Board of Trade
  Lord Harrowby – Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
  Sir William Molesworth, 8th Baronet – First Commissioner of Works
  Lord Canning – Postmaster-General
  Lord Lansdowne – Minister without Portfolio
caption: Palmerston addressing the House of Commons
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