First Stanhope–Sunderland ministry

First Stanhope–Sunderland ministry
First Stanhope–Sunderland ministry
; Cabinet of Great Britain
1717 – 1718
	Stanhope (left) and Sunderland (right)
Date formed	13 October 1714
Date dissolved	1717
People and organisations
Monarch	George I
Chief Ministers	Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland; James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope
Member party	Whigs;
Status in legislature	Majority
Opposition party	Tories;
Opposition leader	Viscount Bolingbroke;
History
Election	1715 general election
Legislature terms	1715–1722
Predecessor	Townshend ministry
Successor	Second Stanhope–Sunderland ministry

Robert Walpole and Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend were removed from their positions in the government (the latter having already previously been demoted to Lord Lieutenant of Ireland), and were replaced by James Stanhope, 1st Viscount Stanhope of Mahon and Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland, who cooperatively led the first Stanhope–Sunderland ministry.^[1] The two Whigs remained in power from 1717 to 1721, although in 1718, Lord Stanhope exchanged positions with Lord Sunderland to form the second Stanhope–Sunderland ministry. Upon Lord Stanhope's death, Robert Walpole, widely considered the first true Prime Minister of Great Britain, returned to head the government.

The Ministry

Office	Holder	Tenure
First Lord of the Treasury Chancellor of the Exchequer	James Stanhope, 1st Viscount Stanhope of Mahon	1717–1718
Secretary of State for the Northern Department	Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland	1717–1718
Secretary of State for the Southern Department	Joseph Addison	1717–1718
Lord Chancellor	William Cowper, 1st Baron Cowper	1717–1718
Lord President of the Council	William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire	1717–1718
Lord Privy Seal	Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull	1717–1718
First Lord of the Admiralty	James Berkeley, 3rd Earl of Berkeley	1717–1718
Master-General of the Ordnance	John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough	1717–1718
Paymaster of the Forces	Henry Clinton, 7th Earl of Lincoln	1717–1718
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland	Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton	1717–1718
Lord Steward	Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent	1717–1718
Lord Chamberlain	Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle	1717–1718
Secretary of State for Scotland	John Ker, 1st Duke of Roxburghe	1717–1718

References

^ Starkie, Andrew (2007). The Church of England and the Bangorian Controversy, 1716-1721. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. p. 30. ISBN 9781843832881. Retrieved 8 March 2026.

[1] Starkie, Andrew (2007). The Church of England and the Bangorian Controversy, 1716-1721. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. p. 30. ISBN 9781843832881. Retrieved 8 March 2026.

[1]

British governments
Great Britain (1707–1801)	Godolphin–Marlborough Harley Townshend Stanhope–Sunderland I Stanhope–Sunderland II Walpole–Townshend Walpole Carteret Broad Bottom I and II Short-lived Newcastle I Pitt–Devonshire 1757 Caretaker Pitt–Newcastle (Newcastle II) Bute Grenville Rockingham I Chatham Grafton North Rockingham II Shelburne Fox–North (Portland I) Pitt I
UK (GB and Ire) (1801–1922)	Addington Pitt II All the Talents Portland II Perceval Liverpool Canning Goderich Wellington–Peel Grey Melbourne I Wellington Caretaker Peel I Melbourne II Peel II Russell I Who? Who? (Derby–Disraeli I) Aberdeen Palmerston I Derby–Disraeli II Palmerston II Russell II Derby–Disraeli III (Disraeli I) Gladstone I Disraeli II Gladstone II Salisbury I Gladstone III Salisbury II Gladstone IV Rosebery Salisbury III and IV Balfour Campbell-Bannerman Asquith I–III Asquith Coalition Lloyd George I and II
UK (GB and NI) (1922–present)	Law Baldwin I MacDonald I Baldwin II MacDonald II National Government I National Government II National Government III National Government IV Chamberlain War Churchill War Churchill Caretaker Attlee I and II Churchill III Eden Macmillan I and II Douglas-Home Wilson I and II Heath Wilson III and IV Callaghan Thatcher I Thatcher II Thatcher III Major I Major II Blair I Blair II Blair III Brown Cameron–Clegg (Cameron I) Cameron II May I May II Johnson I Johnson II Truss Sunak Starmer
Current ministry

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