Henry John Temple

United Kingdom state institutions Liberalism and republicanism United Kingdom Anglo-Irish 1784–1865 ○ Natural causes

Viscount Palmerston, first Liberal prime minister, who drove the Opium Wars and dominated British foreign policy for three decades

Born in Westminster in 1784 into the Irish branch of the Temple family, he succeeded his father in 1802 as 3rd Viscount Palmerston in the Irish peerage. He became a Tory MP in 1807 and was Secretary at War from 1809 to 1828, organising the army's finances. As Foreign Secretary in 1830–1834, 1835–1841 and 1846–1851 he handled a series of conflicts in Europe, and he was a major sponsor of the Opium Wars and the war against Egypt. Home Secretary in Aberdeen's government from 1852, he enacted social reforms but opposed electoral reform. When Aberdeen's coalition fell over the Crimean War in 1855 he became prime minister, serving until 1858 and again from 1859 until his death. A member of the Tory, Whig and Liberal parties in turn, he was the first Liberal prime minister. He died in office in 1865.

Also known as: Lord Palmerston · Viscount Palmerston

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