Who? Who? Ministry

The "Who? Who?" Ministry was a short-lived British Conservative Government which was in power for a matter of months in 1852. Lord Derby was the Prime Minister and Benjamin Disraeli served as Chancellor of the Exchequer. It marked the first time the protectionist wing of the party had taken office since the Corn Laws schism of 1846.

Though the government had little impact, it gained infamy 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. This led the now octogenarian and largely deaf Duke of Wellington, then in his last year, to shout out "Who?", "Who?" as each new cabinet member was announced in the House of Lords.

The Ministry

*See here for a more detailed list, including those not in the Cabinet.

External links

* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/fromthearchive/story/0,,1811458,00.html Lord Derby looses bigotry on the streets - "Manchester Guardian, Saturday July 3, 1852"]
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