James Ogilvy, 4th Earl of Findlater and 1st Earl of Seafield, (11 July 166419 August 1730) was a Scottish politician.

Life

Findlater was the 2nd son of

James Ogilvy, 3rd Earl of Findlater James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

and Lady Anne Montgomerie, a daughter of Hugh Montgomerie, 7th Earl of Eglinton. He was elected to the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constit ...

in 1685, and was a

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

to the

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...

for Cullen, Banffshire from 1681 to 1682 and from 1689 to 1695. Although in the Convention Parliament of 1689 he had spoken for James II, he took the oath of allegiance to William and Mary, and after filling some minor official positions he was appointed to senior roles. Upon his royal appointment as Secretary of State in 1696 he relinquished his representation of Cullen and continued in

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

instead by right of his office. Findlater was Solicitor General for Scotland from 1693,

Lord Chancellor of Scotland The Lord Chancellor of Scotland, formally the Lord High Chancellor, was a Great Officer of State in the Kingdom of Scotland. Holders of the office are known from 1123 onwards, but its duties were occasionally performed by an official of lower s ...

from 1702 to 1704 and from 1705 to 1708, Secretary of State from 1696 to 1702 and joint secretary from 1704 to 1705. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemati ...

in 1698. Findlater was created Viscount Seafield in 1698 and Earl of Seafield in 1701. He was a Commissioner for the Union from 1702 and an active promoter of the Union from 1706. He served as first Lord Chief Baron of the Scottish Court of Exchequer, established by the Act of Union. By 1713 his views on Union had changed and he moved for its repeal. He sat in the

British House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

as a

Scottish Representative Peer This is a list of representative peers elected from the Peerage of Scotland to sit in the House of Lords after the Acts of Union 1707 abolished the Parliament of Scotland, where, as a unicameral legislature, all Scottish P ...

from 1707 to 1710, from 1712 to 1715 and from 1722 to 1730. Findlater was admitted to the

Privy Council of Great Britain The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the British monarchy, sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises Politics of the United King ...

in 1707 and was appointed

Lord Chief Baron The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" (meaning judge) of the English Exchequer of Pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who ...

in the Court of Exchequer in 1707. In 1711 he succeeded his father as fourth

Earl of Findlater Earl of Seafield is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1701 for James Ogilvy, who in 1711 succeeded his father as 4th Earl of Findlater. The earldoms of Findlater and Seafield continued to be united until 1811, when the earldo ...

. He served as Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland from 1713 to 1714. Lord Findlater married Anne Dunbar, daughter of Sir William Dunbar, 1st Baronet, in 1687. He died in August 1730, aged 66, and was succeeded by his son James Ogilvy, 5th Earl of Findlater.

References

External links

Article with biographical notes
* 1664 births 1730 deaths Keepers of the Great Seal of Scotland Lord chancellors of Scotland Earls of Findlater Scottish representative peers Members of the pre-1707 Parliament of Scotland Members of the Privy Council of Scotland Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Lords High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Members of the Faculty of Advocates Politics of the county of Banff Scottish unionists Earls of Seafield Peers of Scotland created by William II Commissioners of the Treasury of Scotland Solicitors General for Scotland Barons of the Court of Exchequer (Scotland) Findlater Fellows of the Royal Society Knights of the Thistle {{Scotland-earl-stub