First Salisbury ministry
The Marquess of Salisbury formed a caretaker government in June 1885, upon his appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by Queen Victoria, succeeding William Ewart Gladstone. His ministry lasted for over seven months.
Cabinet
Changes
- August 1885The Duke of Richmond becomes Secretary for Scotland. Edward Stanhope succeeds him at the Board of Trade; his successor as Vice-President of the Council is not in the Cabinet.
- January 1886
- *The Lord-Lieutenantship of Ireland goes into commission.
- *William Henry Smith becomes Chief Secretary for Ireland. Lord Cranbrook succeeds him as Secretary for War, while remaining Lord President.
List of ministers
| Office | Name | Date |
| Prime Minister | The Marquess of Salisbury | 23 June 188528 January 1886 |
| Leader of the House of Lords | The Marquess of Salisbury | 23 June 188528 January 1886 |
| First Lord of the Treasury | The Earl of Iddesleigh | 24 June 1885 |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | Sir Michael Hicks Beach | 24 June 1885 |
| Leader of the House of Commons | Sir Michael Hicks Beach | 24 June 1885 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury | Aretas Akers-Douglas | 24 June 1885 |
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | Sir Henry Holland | 24 June 1885 |
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | Sir Matthew White Ridley | 1885 |
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | William Jackson | 1886 |
| Junior Lords of the Treasury | Charles Dalrymple | 29 June 188528 January 1886 |
| Junior Lords of the Treasury | Sidney Herbert | 29 June 188528 January 1886 |
| Junior Lords of the Treasury | William Walrond | 29 June 188528 January 1886 |
| Lord Chancellor | The Lord Halsbury | 24 June 1885 |
| Lord President of the Council | The Viscount Cranbrook | 24 June 1885 |
| Lord Privy Seal | The Earl of Harrowby | 24 June 1885 |
| Secretary of State for the Home Department | Sir R. A. Cross | 24 June 1885 |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department | Charles Stuart-Wortley | 30 June 1885 |
| Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | The Marquess of Salisbury | 24 June 1885 |
| Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | Robert Bourke | 25 June 1885 |
| Secretary of State for War | William Henry Smith | 24 June 1885 |
| Under-Secretary of State for War | Viscount Bury | 26 June 1885 |
| Financial Secretary to the War Office | Henry Northcote | 26 June 1885 |
| Surveyor-General of the Ordnance | Guy Dawnay | 27 June 1885 |
| Secretary of State for the Colonies | Frederick Stanley | 24 June 1885 |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies | The Earl of Dunraven | 24 June 1885 |
| Secretary of State for India | Lord Randolph Churchill | 24 June 1885 |
| Under-Secretary of State for India | The Lord Harris | 25 June 1885 |
| First Lord of the Admiralty | Lord George Hamilton | 24 June 1885 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty | Charles Ritchie | 1 July 1885 |
| Civil Lord of the Admiralty | Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett | 1 July 1885 |
| Vice-President of the Committee on Education | Edward Stanhope | 24 June 1885 |
| Vice-President of the Committee on Education | Sir Henry Holland | 17 September 1885 |
| Chief Secretary for Ireland | Sir William Hart Dyke | 25 June 1885 |
| Chief Secretary for Ireland | William Henry Smith | 23 January 1886 |
| Lord Lieutenant of Ireland | The Earl of Carnarvon | 27 June 1885 |
| Lord Chancellor of Ireland | The Lord Ashbourne | 27 June 1885 |
| Postmaster General | Lord John Manners | 24 June 1885 |
| Secretary for Scotland | The Duke of Richmond | 17 August 1885 |
| President of the Board of Trade | The Duke of Richmond | 24 June 1885 |
| President of the Board of Trade | Edward Stanhope | 19 August 1885 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade | Baron Henry de Worms | 24 June 1885 |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | Henry Chaplin | 24 June 1885 |
| President of the Local Government Board | Arthur Balfour | 24 June 1885 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board | The Earl Brownlow | 24 June 1885 |
| Paymaster General | The Earl Beauchamp | 24 June 1885 |
| First Commissioner of Works | David Robert Plunket | 24 June 1885 |
| Attorney General | Sir Richard Webster | 27 July 1885 |
| Solicitor General | John Eldon Gorst | 2 July 1885 |
| Judge Advocate General | William Thackeray Marriott | 13 July 1885 |
| Lord Advocate | John Macdonald | 2 July 1885 |
| Solicitor General for Scotland | James Robertson | 2 July 1885 |
| Attorney-General for Ireland | Hugh Holmes | 3 July 1885 |
| Solicitor-General for Ireland | John Munroe | 3 July 1885 |
| Solicitor-General for Ireland | John George Gibson | 1885 |
| Lord Steward of the Household | The Earl of Mount Edgcumbe | 27 June 1885 |
| Lord Chamberlain of the Household | The Earl of Lathom | 27 June 1885 |
| Vice-Chamberlain of the Household | Viscount Lewisham | 27 June 1885 |
| Master of the Horse | The Earl of Bradford | 1 July 1885 |
| Treasurer of the Household | Viscount Folkestone | 27 June 1885 |
| Comptroller of the Household | Lord Arthur Hill | 27 June 1885 |
| Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms | The Earl of Coventry | 6 July 1885 |
| Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard | The Viscount Barrington | 27 June 1885 |
| Master of the Buckhounds | The Marquess of Waterford | 27 June 1885 |
| Mistress of the Robes | The Duchess of Buccleuch | 27 June 1885 |
| Lords in Waiting | The Lord de Ros | 27 June 188528 January 1886 |
| Lords in Waiting | The Earl of Kintore | 27 June 188528 January 1886 |
| Lords in Waiting | The Viscount Hawarden | 27 June 188528 January 1886 |
| Lords in Waiting | The Lord Henniker | 27 June 188528 January 1886 |
| Lords in Waiting | The Earl of Hopetoun | 27 June 188528 January 1886 |
| Lords in Waiting | The Lord Elphinstone | 27 June 188528 January 1886 |
| Lords in Waiting | The Lord Boston | 6 July 188528 January 1886 |
| Extra Lord in Waiting | The Lord Sackville | 1 October 18761 October 1888 |