Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland
The Lord High Commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland, sometimes referred to as the fifth estate of the Estates of Scotland, were the Scottish Sovereign's personal representative to the Parliament of Scotland following James VI of Scotland's accession to the throne of England and his becoming, in personal union, James I, the first Stuart king of England (see Union of the Crowns).
The Lord High Commissioners were appointed from 1603 until 1707. The Act of Union 1707, which merged the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England to create the Parliament of Great Britain, rendered the post redundant.
They were effectively the heads of government in Scotland during this period,[1] exercising de facto control over the Estates and the Privy Council, although nominally this role was still held by the Lord Chancellor.
List of Lord High Commissioners
- 1605: John Graham, 3rd Earl of Montrose
- 1607: Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox
- 1609: George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal
- 1612: Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline
- 1621: James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton
- 1639: John Stewart, 1st Earl of Traquair
- 1641: John, Lord Balmerino
- 1646: James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton
- 1661: John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton
- 1663: John Leslie, 7th Earl of Rothes
- 1665: John Leslie, 7th Earl of Rothes (Convention of Estates)
- 1667: John Leslie, 7th Earl of Rothes (Convention of Estates)
- 1669: John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale
- 1670: John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale
- 1672: John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale
- 1673: John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale
- 1674: John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale
- 1678: John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale (Convention of Estates)
- 1681: James, Duke of Albany and York, later James VII
- 1685: William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry
- 1686: Alexander Stuart, 5th Earl of Moray
- 1689: William Douglas, 3rd Duke of Hamilton
- 1690: George Melville, 1st Earl of Melville
- 1693: William Douglas, 3rd Duke of Hamilton
- 1695: John Hay, 1st Marquess of Tweeddale
- 1696: John, Earl of Tullibardine
- 1698: Patrick Hume, 1st Earl of Marchmont
- 1700: James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry
- 1702: James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry
- 1703: James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry
- 1704: John Hay, 2nd Marquess of Tweeddale
- 1705: John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll
- 1706: James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry
References
- ↑ "a personal representative of the Sovereign, Lords High Commissioner were appointed to the Scottish Parliament between the Union of the Crowns (1603) and the Act of Union (1707) and were the heads of government in Scotland.". Gazetteer for Scotland, University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
See also
- Commissioner (Scottish Parliament)
- Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland