Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff

Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff, GCSI, CIE, PC (1829-1906) was a Scottish statesman and author.

The son of James Grant Duff, he was educated at Balliol College, Oxford and in London and was called to the bar in 1854.

He was Liberal Member of Parliament for Elgin Burghs from 1857-81. He became an authority on questions of foreign policy, and held office as Under-Secretary of State for India from 1868-74, and Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies in 1880. He was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1880.

He served as Governor of Madras from 1881-6, and was awarded the CIE in 1881 and GCSI in 1887.

On his return to England in 1887, he devoted himself to literature. He was Lord Rector of Aberdeen University from 1866-72, president of the Royal Geographical Society from 1889 to 1892, and president of the Royal Historical Society from 1892 to 1899. He was treasurer of the exclusive social club known simply as The Club from 1893. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1901, and was appointed a trustee of the British Museum in 1903.

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by George Skene Duff	Member of Parliament for Elgin Burghs 1857–1881	Succeeded by Alexander Asher
Political offices
Preceded by Lord Clinton	Under-Secretary of State for India 1868–1874	Succeeded by Lord George Hamilton
Preceded by Earl Cadogan	Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies 1880–1881	Succeeded by Leonard Courtney
Preceded by William Patrick Adam	Governor of Madras 1881–1886	Succeeded by Robert Bourke