John Blair Balfour, 1st Baron Kinross (11 July 1837 – 22 January 1905) was a Scottish lawyer and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

from 1880 to 1899.

Early life

Balfour was born in the manse at

Clackmannan Clackmannan ( ; gd, Clach Mhanainn, perhaps meaning "Stone of Manau"), is a small town and civil parish set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated within the Forth Valley, Clackmannan is south-east of Alloa and south of Tillicoultry. ...

, the son of Rev. Peter Balfour ("Perpendicular Peter"), minister of Clackmannan and his wife Jane Ramsay Blair, daughter of John Blair. He was educated at the

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, is now part of the Senior School. The Junior School is located on Arboretum Ro ...

and then studied law at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted ...

, becoming an advocate of the Scottish bar in 1861.

Career

He served as Advocate Depute from 1870 to 1872, and in 1880 was made a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

. He was a Deputy Lieutenant for Edinburgh.Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1881
/ref> At the 1880 general election, Balfour stood unsuccessfully for parliament at Ayrshire North but in a by election six months later was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Clackmannan and Kinross. He was appointed Solicitor General for Scotland in 1880 and in 1881 he succeeded this appointment by becoming

Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate ( gd, Morair Tagraidh, sco, Laird Advocat), is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved p ...

, a post he held for four years. In 1882 he became a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

. He served as the elected

Dean of the Faculty of Advocates The Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, also known as the Dean of Faculty, is the head of the Faculty of Advocates, the independent body for advocates in Scotland. The Dean is elected by the whole membership. List of deans of Faculty * 1582 to ??? ...

twice: from 1885 to 1886, and from 1889 to 1892. In 1892, on the return of the Liberals to power, Balfour was again appointed Lord Advocate, finally resigning on the fall of Lord Rosebery's government in 1895. In 1899 he was appointed

Lord Justice General Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

of Scotland and

Lord President of the Court of Session The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. The L ...

. In the

1902 Coronation Honours The 1902 Coronation Honours were announced on 26 June 1902, the date originally set for the coronation of King Edward VII. The coronation was postponed because the King had been taken ill two days before, but he ordered that the honours list shou ...

list it was announced that he would receive a barony, and on 15 July 1902 he was created Baron Kinross, of Glascune in the

County A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

of Haddingtonshire. He took the oath and his seat in the

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 Westminste ...

the following month, on 7 August.

Personal life

On 4 August 1869 Balfour married Lilias Oswald Mackenzie daughter of Donald Mackenzie, styled Lord Mackenzie, a

Lord of Session The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); ...

, and Janet Alice Mitchell. They had one son who lived with the family and was trained as an advocate: * Patrick Balfour, 2nd Baron Kinross (1870–1939), who married Caroline Elsie Johnstone-Douglas, a daughter of

Arthur Johnstone-Douglas Arthur Henry Johnstone-Douglas JP DL (23 June 1846 – 26 March 1923) was a Scottish soldier and politician. Early life Johnstone-Douglas was born on 23 June 1846 into Clan Douglas. He was the son of Robert Johnstone-Douglas of Lockerbie (1814� ...

. After the death of his first wife, he married secondly the Hon. Marianne Eliza Moncrieff in 1877. Marianne was a daughter of James Moncreiff, 1st Baron Moncreiff. Together, they were the parents of five children, four sons and one daughter, including: * Hon. James Moncreiffe Balfour (1878–1960), who married Madeline Maude Graham Watson, daughter of James Graham Watson (brother-in-law of Sir

Robert Tuite Boothby Sir Robert Tuite Boothby Order of the British Empire, KBE (29 June 1871 – 7 February 1941) was a British banker. Career He was born in St Andrews in Fife, the son of Col Robert Tod Boothby of the Royal Artillery, and his wife Madeline Condie. ...

), in 1908. * Hon. John Ramsay Blair Balfour (1881–1964), a Lt.-Cdr. om the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

who died unmarried. * Hon. Harry Robert Chichester Balfour (1882–1964), who married Dorothy Constance Chetwynd, a daughter of Henry Goulburn Willoughby Chetwynd and Eva Constance Elizabeth Fanny Berney, in 1921. * Hon. Norman Frederick William Balfour (1884–1954), the Vicar of Leafield who died unmarried. * Hon. Isobel Nora Gwendoline Balfour (1885–1961), who married Capt. Percival Henry Havelock Bailey, in 1908. Lord Kinross died 22 January 1905, at his home at 6 Rothesay TerraceEdinburgh Post Office Directory 1900 in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, and was buried in the "Lords Row" in Dean Cemetery,

. His descendants are buried with him.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Balfour, John Kinross, John Balfour, 1st Baron Kinross, John Balfour, 1st Baron Kinross, John Balfour, 1st Baron Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Lord Advocates Solicitors General for Scotland Scottish Liberal Party MPs UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs who were granted peerages Lords President of the Court of Session Lords Justice-General Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Burials at the Dean Cemetery Blair Balfour People educated at Edinburgh Academy Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish King's Counsel 19th-century King's Counsel People from Clackmannanshire Deputy Lieutenants of Edinburgh Members of the Faculty of Advocates Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom John, 1st Baron Kinross Deans of the Faculty of Advocates Peers created by Edward VII