Sir Alexander Napier, 2nd Laird of Merchiston (died ) was a Scottish politician and diplomat. He thrice served as Provost of Edinburgh (1453–55, 1456–62, and 1469–74), and served as Commissioner for

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

in the parliaments of 1458, 1463, 1464, 1469, 1471 and 1473. Alexander was the son and heir of Alexander Napare (Napier), first Laird of Merchiston, a burgess and Provost (1437) of Edinburgh. He initially belonged to the household of the queen-mother, Joan Beaufort, and then served as

Comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level exec ...

James II James II may refer to: * James II of Avesnes (died c. 1205), knight of the Fourth Crusade * James II of Majorca (died 1311), Lord of Montpellier * James II of Aragon (1267–1327), King of Sicily * James II, Count of La Marche (1370–1438), King C ...

(1449–61), ambassador to England (1451 and 1461), and was knighted and appointed Vice-Admiral of Scotland before 7 July 1461. In 1468 he was named joint-commissioner, with

Andrew Stewart, lord chancellor Andrew Stewart (c. 14201488) was Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1460 to 1482 and one of the leading servants of King James III of Scotland. Early life Andrew Stewart was born c. 1420 and "appears to have been the eldest son of Walter Stewar ...

, to negotiate a marriage between James III and

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular through ...

, daughter of

Christian I of Denmark Christian I (February 1426 – 21 May 1481) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1448–1481), Norway (1450–1481) and Sweden (1457–1464). From 1460 to 1481, he was also duke of Schleswig (within ...

. Napier was sent on special embassies to

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Scienc ...

, in 1472, and to

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, in 1473. He was married to Elizabeth Lauder (1410-1470). They were parents to Sir John Napier, 3rd Laird of Merchiston, Provost of Edinburgh 1484–5. He died some time between 24 October 1473 and 15 February 1474.

Descendants

His descendants included the world-famous mathematician John Napier.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Napier, Alexander Diplomats from Edinburgh Scottish knights 15th-century Scottish people Ambassadors of Scotland to England Provosts of Edinburgh Burgh Commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland Scottish admirals Politicians from Edinburgh Medieval Scottish diplomats 15th-century diplomats 1470s deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain