Granville, Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2d Earl

Granville, Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2d Earl (l`sən-gôr`), 1815–91, British statesman. He entered Parliament as a Whig in 1836 and held various cabinet positions under Lord John Russell, the earl of Aberdeen, and Viscount Palmerston. As colonial secretary (1868–70, 1886) under William Gladstone, he had a large part in passing the bills that disestablished the Church of Ireland and began reforms in Irish land tenure. He was also foreign secretary (1870–74, 1880–85) under Gladstone.