Second Rockingham 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.

Second Rockingham ministry
March–July 1782
Rockingham (after Joshua Reynolds)
Date formed	27 March 1782 (1782-03-27)
Date dissolved	1 July 1782 (1782-07-01)
People and organisations
Monarch	George III
Prime Minister	Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham
Total no. of members	16 appointments
Member party	Rockingham Whigs
Status in legislature	Majority
Opposition party	Grenvillites
History
Legislature terms	15th GB Parliament
Predecessor	North ministry
Successor	Shelburne ministry

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

Portfolio	Minister	Took office	Left office
First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham (head of ministry)	27 March 1782 (1782-03-27)	1 July 1782 (1782-07-01)
Lord Chancellor	Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow	3 June 1778 (1778-06-03)	7 April 1783 (1783-04-07)
Lord President of the Council	Charles Pratt, 1st Baron Camden	27 March 1782 (1782-03-27)	2 April 1783 (1783-04-02)
Lord Privy Seal	Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton	1782 (1782)	1783 (1783)
Chancellor of the Exchequer	Lord John Cavendish	27 March 1782 (1782-03-27)	10 July 1782 (1782-07-10)
Secretary of State for the Home Department	William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne	27 March 1782 (1782-03-27)	10 July 1782 (1782-07-10)
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Leader of the House of Commons	Charles James Fox	27 March 1782 (1782-03-27)	5 July 1782 (1782-07-05)
First Lord of the Admiralty	Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel	1782 (1782)	1783 (1783)
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	John Dunning, 1st Baron Ashburton	17 April 1782 (1782-04-17)	29 August 1783 (1783-08-29)
Master-General of the Ordnance	Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond	1782 (1782)	1783 (1783)
Commander-in-Chief of the Forces	Henry Seymour Conway	1782 (1782)	1783 (1783)

Ministers not in Cabinet

• Thomas Robinson, 2nd Baron Grantham – First Lord of Trade
• Isaac Barré – Treasurer of the Navy
• Thomas Townshend – Secretary at War
• Edmund Burke – Paymaster of the Forces
• William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland – Lord Lieutenant of Ireland

References

• Cook, Chris; Stevenson, John (1980). British Historical Facts: 1760–1830. Palgrave Macmillan UK. ISBN 978-0-333-21512-8.

Preceded by North ministry

Government of Great Britain 1782

Succeeded by Shelburne ministry