Chatham Ministry

The Chatham Ministry was a British government led by William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham that ruled between 1766 and 1768. Because of Pitt's former prominence before his title, it is sometimes referred to as the Pitt Ministry. Unusually for a politician considered to be Prime Minister, Pitt was not First Lord of the Treasury during the administration, but instead held the post of Lord Privy Seal

Chatham was ill with gout for long periods, and his government struggled to fulfill its various goals. Its major foreign policy objective - to secure Britain a major alliance partner in Europe that would end its diplomatic isolation - failed when Frederick the Great of Prussia rejected an offer to reform the Anglo-Prussian Alliance. In 1768 Pitt and several of his followers left the government, and the Duke of Grafton formally took over as Prime Minister - leading the Grafton Ministry until 1770.

Major figures

William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham - Lord Privy Seal and Prime Minister
Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton - First Lord of the Treasury
Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke - First Lord of the Admiralty
Henry Seymour Conway - Northern Secretary
William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne - Southern Secretary

Bibliography

Black, Jeremy. William Pitt. Cambridge University Press, 1992.

Preceded by First Rockingham Ministry	British ministries 1766–1768	Succeeded by Grafton Ministry

v t e British governments
18th century	Godolphin–Marlborough Harley Townshend First Stanhope–Sunderland Second Stanhope–Sunderland Walpole–Townshend Walpole Carteret Broad Bottom First Newcastle Devonshire–Pitt 1757 caretaker Second Newcastle Bute Grenville First Rockingham Chatham Grafton North Second Rockingham Shelburne Fox–North Coalition First Pitt the Younger
19th century	Addington Second Pitt the Younger Ministry of All the Talents Second Portland Perceval Liverpool Canning Goderich Wellington Grey First Melbourne Wellington Caretaker First Peel Second Melbourne Second Peel First Russell Who? Who? Aberdeen First Palmerston Second Derby Second Palmerston Second Russell Third Derby First Disraeli First Gladstone Second Disraeli Second Gladstone First Salisbury Third Gladstone Second Salisbury Fourth Gladstone Rosebery Third Salisbury
20th century	Balfour Campbell-Bannerman First Asquith Second Asquith Lloyd George Bonar Law First Baldwin First MacDonald Second Baldwin Second MacDonald First National Second National Third National Fourth National Chamberlain War Churchill War Churchill Caretaker Attlee Third Churchill Eden Macmillan Douglas-Home First Wilson Heath Second Wilson Callaghan First Thatcher Second Thatcher Third Thatcher Major Blair
21st century	Brown First Cameron Second Cameron First May Second May
Current ministry

Chatham Ministry

Major figures

Bibliography

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