John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1878)

John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was the last British Whig and early Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and again from 1865 to 1866.

The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern prime ministers hold office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the House of Commons, so they are invariably members of Parliament.