John Hay, 2nd Marquess of Tweeddale

Who was John Hay, 2nd Marquess of Tweeddale?

John Hay, 2nd Marquess of Tweeddale was a Scottish nobleman.

Hay was the eldest son of John Hay, 1st Marquess of Tweeddale and his wife, Jean, daughter of Walter Scott, 1st Earl of Buccleuch. In 1666, at Highgate in London, he married Lady Mary Maitland, daughter of John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale. However, Lauderdale set himself against Hay, who was forced to leave for the continent and did not regain his position until Lauderdale's death in 1682.

He was Colonel of the Militia Regiment of Foot in Co Haddington and Linlithgow and Peebles. He was Burgess of Edinburgh, Commissioner for the Borders, Commissioner of Supply for Haddington, Peebles, Edinburgh, Fife, Berwick; Colonel of the East Lothian Regiment, Captain of the Militia Horse for Haddington and Berwick, Privy Councillor, Sheriff of Haddington and Commissioner of the Admiralty.

He was also Lord Treasurer in 1695. He succeeded his father to the Marquessate in 1697.

He was appointed Lord High Commissioner to the Scots Parliament in 1704, and was Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1704–05. He led the Squadrone Volante, but ultimately supported the Union. He was appointed one of 18 Scottish representative peers in 1707.