Henry John Temple

The Right Honourable The Viscount Palmerston KG GCB PC FRS MP
Lord Palmerston c. 1857
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 12 June 1859 – 18 October 1865
Monarch	Victoria
Preceded by	The Earl of Derby
Succeeded by	The Earl Russell
In office 6 February 1855 – 19 February 1858
Monarch	Victoria
Preceded by	The Earl of Aberdeen
Succeeded by	The Earl of Derby
Leader of the Opposition
In office 19 February 1858 – 11 June 1859
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	The Earl of Derby
Preceded by	The Earl of Derby
Succeeded by	The Earl of Derby
Home Secretary
In office 28 December 1852 – 6 February 1855
Prime Minister	The Earl of Aberdeen
Preceded by	Spencer Horatio Walpole
Succeeded by	Sir George Grey, Bt
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
In office 6 July 1846 – 26 December 1851
Prime Minister	Lord John Russell
Preceded by	The Earl of Aberdeen
Succeeded by	The Earl Granville
In office 18 April 1835 – 2 September 1841
Prime Minister	The Viscount Melbourne Sir Robert Peel, Bt
Preceded by	The Duke of Wellington
Succeeded by	The Earl of Aberdeen
In office 22 November 1830 – 15 November 1834
Prime Minister	The Earl Grey The Viscount Melbourne
Preceded by	The Earl of Aberdeen
Succeeded by	The Earl Granville
Personal details
Born	(1784-10-20)20 October 1784 Westminster, Middlesex, England
Died	18 October 1865(1865-10-18) (aged 80) Brocket Hall, Hertfordshire, England
Resting place	Westminster Abbey
Political party	Tory (1806–1822) Whig (1822–1859) Liberal (1859–1865)
Spouse(s)	Emily Lamb (m. 1839)
Parents	Henry Temple, 2nd Viscount Palmerston Mary Mee
Alma mater	University of Edinburgh St John's College, Cambridge
Signature

Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC, FRS (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) 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 was at the height of her 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, and, from 1809 to 1828, served as Secretary at War, as which he was responsible for the organisation of 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 subsequently.

He served as Foreign Secretary from 1830–4, from 1835–41, and from 1846–51. In this office, Palmerston responded efficaciously to a series of conflicts in Europe. His belligerent actions as Foreign Secretary, some of which were highly controversial, have been considered to be prototypes of the practice of liberal interventionism.

Palmerston became Home Secretary in Aberdeen's coalition government, in 1852, subsequent to the Peelite advocacy of the appointment of Russell to the office of Foreign Secretary. As Home Secretary, Palmerston enacted various social reforms, although he opposed electoral reform. When public antipathy over the Government's policy in the Crimean War lost the Government popular favour, in 1855, Palmerston was the only Prime Minister who was able to sustain a majority in Parliament. He had two periods in office, 1855–1858 and 1859–1865, before his death at the age of 80 years, a few months subsequent to victory in a general election in which he had achieved an increased majority. He remains, to date, the last Prime Minister to die in office.