First Gladstone ministry
The Conservative government under Benjamin Disraeli had been defeated at the 1868 general election, so in December 1868 the victorious William Ewart Gladstone formed his first government. He introduced reforms in the British Army, the legal system and the Civil Service, and disestablished the Church of Ireland. In foreign affairs he pursued a peaceful policy. His ministry was defeated in the 1874 election, whereupon Disraeli formed a ministry and Gladstone retired as Leader of the Liberal Party.
Cabinet
December 1868 – February 1874
Changes
- July 1870: On the death of Lord Clarendon, Lord Granville succeeds him as Foreign Secretary. Lord Kimberley succeeds Granville as Colonial Secretary, and Lord Halifax succeeds Kimberley as Lord Privy Seal. W.E. Forster enters the Cabinet as Vice President of the Council.
- January 1871: Chichester Fortescue succeeds Bright at the Board of Trade. Lord Hartington succeeds Fortescue as Chief Secretary for Ireland. Hartington's successor as Postmaster-General is not in the Cabinet.
- March 1871: G.J. Goschen succeeds Childers at the Admiralty. James Stansfeld succeeds Goschen at the Poor Law Board.
- August 1872: Hugh Childers returns to the Cabinet as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
- October 1872: Lord Selborne succeeds Lord Hatherley as Lord Chancellor.
- August 1873: Lord Aberdare succeeds Lord Ripon as Lord President. Robert Lowe succeeds Aberdare as Home Secretary. Gladstone himself takes over the Exchequer.
- September 1873: John Bright returns to the Cabinet, succeeding Childers at the Duchy of Lancaster.
List of Ministers
| Office | Name | Date |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone | 3 December 186817 February 1874 |
| First Lord of the Treasury | William Ewart Gladstone | 3 December 186817 February 1874 |
| Leader of the House of Commons | William Ewart Gladstone | 3 December 186817 February 1874 |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | Robert Lowe | 9 December 1868 |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | William Ewart Gladstone | 11 August 1873 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury | George Glyn | 9 December 1868 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury | Arthur Peel | 1 August 1873 |
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | Acton Smee Ayrton | 9 December 1868 |
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | James Stansfeld | 2 November 1869 |
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | William Edward Baxter | 17 March 1871 |
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | John George Dodson | 11 August 1873 |
| Junior Lords of the Treasury | James Stansfeld | 16 December 18682 November 1869 |
| Junior Lords of the Treasury | The Marquess of Lansdowne | 16 December 186825 April 1872 |
| Junior Lords of the Treasury | William Patrick Adam | 16 December 18688 August 1873 |
| Junior Lords of the Treasury | John Cranch Walker Vivian | 16 December 18684 August 1870 |
| Junior Lords of the Treasury | William Henry Gladstone | 2 November 186917 February 1874 |
| Junior Lords of the Treasury | Lord Frederick Cavendish | 8 August 187317 February 1874 |
| Junior Lords of the Treasury | Algernon Greville | 8 August 187317 February 1874 |
| Lord Chancellor | The Lord Hatherley | 9 December 1868 |
| Lord Chancellor | The Lord Selborne | 15 October 1872 |
| Lord President of the Council | The Earl de Grey and Ripon | 9 December 1868 |
| Lord President of the Council | Henry Bruce | 9 August 1873 |
| Lord Privy Seal | The Earl of Kimberley | 9 December 1868 |
| Lord Privy Seal | The Viscount Halifax | 6 July 1870 |
| Secretary of State for the Home Department | Henry Bruce | 9 December 1868 |
| Secretary of State for the Home Department | Robert Lowe | 9 August 1873 |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department | Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen | 10 December 1868 |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department | George Shaw-Lefevre | 11 January 1871 |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department | Henry Winterbotham | 17 March 1871 |
| Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | The Earl of Clarendon | 9 December 1868 |
| Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | The Earl Granville | 6 July 1870 |
| Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | Arthur Otway | 12 December 1868 |
| Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | Viscount Enfield | 9 January 1871 |
| Secretary of State for War | Edward Cardwell | 9 December 1868 |
| Under-Secretary of State for War | The Lord Northbrook | 10 December 1868 |
| Under-Secretary of State for War | The Marquess of Lansdowne | 26 April 1872 |
| Financial Secretary to the War Office | John Cranch Walker Vivian | 5 August 1870 |
| Financial Secretary to the War Office | Henry Campbell-Bannerman | 15 November 1871 |
| Surveyor-General of the Ordnance | Sir Henry Storks | 5 August 1870 |
| Secretary of State for the Colonies | The Earl Granville | 9 December 1868 |
| Secretary of State for the Colonies | The Earl of Kimberley | 6 July 1870 |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies | William Monsell | 10 December 1868 |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies | Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen | 14 January 1871 |
| Secretary of State for India | The Duke of Argyll | 9 December 1868 |
| Under-Secretary of State for India | M. E. Grant Duff | 10 December 1868 |
| First Lord of the Admiralty | Hugh Childers | 9 December 1868 |
| First Lord of the Admiralty | George Goschen | 24 March 1871 |
| First Secretary to the Admiralty | William Edward Baxter | 18 December 1868 |
| First Secretary to the Admiralty | George Shaw-Lefevre | 17 March 1871 |
| Civil Lord of the Admiralty | George Trevelyan | 21 December 1868 |
| Civil Lord of the Admiralty | The Earl of Camperdown | 11 July 1870 |
| Vice-President of the Committee on Education | William Edward Forster | 9 December 1868 |
| Chief Secretary for Ireland | Chichester Fortescue | 16 December 1868 |
| Chief Secretary for Ireland | Marquess of Hartington | 12 January 1871 |
| Lord Lieutenant of Ireland | The Earl Spencer | 18 December 1868 |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | The Lord Dufferin and Clandeboye | 12 December 1868 |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | Hugh Childers | 9 August 1872 |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | John Bright | 30 September 1873 |
| President of the Poor Law Board | George Goschen | 9 December 1868 |
| President of the Poor Law Board | James Stansfeld | 24 March 1871 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Poor Law Board | Arthur Peel | 10 December 1868 |
| President of the Local Government Board | James Stansfeld | 19 August 1871 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board | John Tomlinson Hibbert | 19 August 1871 |
| Postmaster-General | Marquess of Hartington | 9 December 1868 |
| Postmaster-General | William Monsell | 14 January 1871 |
| Postmaster-General | Lyon Playfair | 18 November 1873 |
| President of the Board of Trade | John Bright | 9 December 1868 |
| President of the Board of Trade | Chichester Fortescue | 14 January 1871 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade | George Shaw-Lefevre | 9 December 1868 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade | Arthur Peel | 14 January 1871 |
| Paymaster-General | The Lord Dufferin and Clandeboye | 12 December 1868 |
| Paymaster-General | Hugh Childers | 9 August 1872 |
| Paymaster-General | William Patrick Adam | 30 September 1873 |
| First Commissioner of Works | Austen Henry Layard | 9 December 1868 |
| First Commissioner of Works | Acton Smee Ayrton | 26 October 1869 |
| First Commissioner of Works | William Patrick Adam | 11 August 1873 |
| Attorney General | Sir Robert Collier | 12 December 1868 |
| Attorney General | Sir John Coleridge | 10 November 1871 |
| Attorney General | Sir Henry James | 20 November 1873 |
| Solicitor General | Sir John Coleridge | 12 December 1868 |
| Solicitor General | Sir George Jessel | 10 November 1871 |
| Solicitor General | Sir Henry James | 26 September 1873 |
| Solicitor General | Sir William Vernon Harcourt | 20 November 1873 |
| Judge Advocate General | Sir Colman O'Loghlen | 16 December 1868 |
| Judge Advocate General | John Robert Davison | 28 December 1870 |
| Judge Advocate General | Sir Robert Phillimore | 17 May 1871 |
| Judge Advocate General | Acton Smee Ayrton | 21 August 1873 |
| Lord Advocate | James Moncreiff | 10 December 1868 |
| Lord Advocate | George Young | 14 October 1869 |
| Solicitor General for Scotland | George Young | 14 December 1868 |
| Solicitor General for Scotland | Andrew Rutherfurd-Clark | 14 October 1869 |
| Attorney General for Ireland | Edward Sullivan | 12 December 1868 |
| Attorney General for Ireland | Charles Robert Barry | 26 January 1870 |
| Attorney General for Ireland | Richard Dowse | 13 January 1872 |
| Attorney General for Ireland | Christopher Palles | 5 November 1872 |
| Solicitor General for Ireland | Charles Robert Barry | 12 December 1868 |
| Solicitor General for Ireland | Richard Dowse | 14 February 1870 |
| Solicitor General for Ireland | Christopher Palles | 6 February 1872 |
| Solicitor General for Ireland | Hugh Law | 18 November 1872 |
| Lord Steward of the Household | The Earl of Bessborough | 12 December 1868 |
| Lord Chamberlain of the Household | The Viscount Sydney | 9 December 1868 |
| Vice-Chamberlain of the Household | Viscount Castlerosse | 12 December 1868 |
| Vice-Chamberlain of the Household | Lord Richard Grosvenor | 25 February 1872 |
| Master of the Horse | The Marquess of Ailesbury | 12 December 1868 |
| Treasurer of the Household | The Lord de Tabley | 12 December 1868 |
| Treasurer of the Household | The Lord Poltimore | 1 March 1872 |
| Treasurer of the Household | The Lord Monson | 1 January 1874 |
| Comptroller of the Household | Lord Otho FitzGerald | 12 December 1868 |
| Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms | The Lord Foley | 12 December 1868 |
| Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms | The Marquess of Normanby | 27 December 1869 |
| Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms | The Earl Cowper | 20 April 1871 |
| Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms | The Earl of Ilchester | 1 January 1874 |
| Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard | The Duke of St Albans | 22 December 1868 |
| Master of the Buckhounds | The Earl of Cork | 12 December 1868 |
| Mistress of the Robes | The Duchess of Argyll | 17 December 1868 |
| Mistress of the Robes | The Duchess of Sutherland | 22 January 1870 |
| Lords in Waiting | The Marquess of Normanby | 17 December 186827 December 1869 |
| Lords in Waiting | The Earl of Camperdown | 17 December 186811 July 1870 |
| Lords in Waiting | The Lord Camoys | 17 December 186817 February 1874 |
| Lords in Waiting | The Lord Suffield | 17 December 186825 February 1872 |
| Lords in Waiting | The Lord Methuen | 17 December 186817 February 1874 |
| Lords in Waiting | The Earl of Morley | 22 December 186817 February 1874 |
| Lords in Waiting | The Lord Lurgan | 27 January 186917 February 1874 |
| Lords in Waiting | The Lord Wrottesley | 27 December 186917 February 1874 |
| Lords in Waiting | The Marquess of Huntly | 21 July 18701 March 1873 |
| Lords in Waiting | The Earl of Kenmare | 25 February 187217 February 1874 |
| Lords in Waiting | The Earl of Breadalbane | 1 March 187317 February 1874 |
;Notes