| The Right Honourable The Earl of Malmesbury GCB, PC |
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|---|---|
| Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 27 February 1852 – 28 December 1852 |
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| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | The Earl of Derby |
| Preceded by | The Earl Granville |
| Succeeded by | Lord John Russell |
| In office 26 February 1858 – 18 June 1859 |
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| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | The Earl of Derby |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Clarendon |
| Succeeded by | Lord John Russell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 March 1807 |
| Died | 17 May 1889 |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative) |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Lady Corisande Emma Bennet (d. 1876) (2) Susan Hamilton (d. 1935) |
| Alma mater | Oriel College, Oxford |
James Howard Harris, 3rd Earl of Malmesbury GCB, PC (25 March 1807 – 17 May 1889), styled Viscount FitzHarris from 1820 to 1841, was a British statesman of the Victorian era.
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The eldest son of James Edward Harris, 2nd Earl of Malmesbury, he was educated at Eton and Oriel College, Oxford. He spent several years travelling and making acquaintance with famous people, including the future Napoleon III of France.
In 1841 he had only just been elected to the House of Commons for Wilton as a Conservative, when his father died and he succeeded to the peerage. Malmesbury served as Foreign Secretary under the Earl of Derby in 1852 and again from 1858 to 1859 and was also Lord Privy Seal under Derby and Benjamin Disraeli between 1866 and 1868 and under Disraeli between 1874 and 1876. In 1852 he was admitted to the Privy Council. He was regarded as an influential Tory of the old school in the House of Lords at a time when Lord Derby and Disraeli were, in their different ways, moulding the Conservatism of the period.
In his two brief terms as foreign secretary, Malmesbury pursued a cautious, Conservative policy. His friendship with the exiled Louis Napoleon helped lead to quick British acquiescence in the Prince-President's decision to restore the Empire in 1852, but did not prevent Malmesbury from pursuing a policy relatively sympathetic to Austria during the crisis leading up to the Italian War of 1859. Malmesbury was particularly horrified by the behavior of Cavour, and at the fact that a small country like Piedmont was able so easily to threaten the European peace.
His long life, and the publication of his Memoirs of an Ex-Minister in 1884, contributed to his reputation. The Memoirs, charmingly written, full of anecdote, and containing much interesting material for the history of the time, remain his chief title to remembrance. Lord Malmesbury also edited his grandfather’s Diaries and Correspondence (1844), and in 1870 published The First Lord Malmesbury and His Friends.
Lord Malmesbury died childless in May 1889, aged 82, and was succeeded in the earldom by his nephew, Edward Harris.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Edward Baker |
Member of Parliament for Wilton 1841 |
Succeeded by Viscount Somerton |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by The Earl Granville |
Foreign Secretary 1852 |
Succeeded by The Lord John Russell |
| Preceded by The Earl of Clarendon |
Foreign Secretary 1858–1859 |
Succeeded by The Lord John Russell |
| Preceded by The Duke of Argyll |
Lord Privy Seal 1866–1868 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Kimberley |
| Preceded by The Earl of Derby |
Leader of the House of Lords 1868 |
Succeeded by The Earl Granville |
| Preceded by The Viscount Halifax |
Lord Privy Seal 1874–1876 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Beaconsfield |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by The Earl of Derby |
Leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords 1868–1869 |
Succeeded by The Lord Cairns |
| Peerage of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by James Harris |
Earl of Malmesbury 1841–1889 |
Succeeded by Edward James Harris |
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