George Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland
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His Grace The Duke of Sutherland KG, PC |
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| Ambassador to France | |
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In office 1790–1792 |
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| Monarch | George III |
| Preceded by | The Duke of Dorset |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
9 January 1758 London, England |
| Died | 19 July 1833 (aged 75) Dunrobin Castle, Sutherland |
| Nationality | English |
| Spouse(s) | The Countess of Sutherland |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
George Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland KG, PC (9 January 1758 – 19 July 1833), known as Viscount Trentham from 1758 to 1786, as Earl Gower from 1786 to 1803 and as The Marquess of Stafford from 1803 to 1833, was a British politician, diplomat, landowner and patron of the arts from the Leveson-Gower family. He is estimated to have been the wealthiest man of the 19th-century. He remains a controversial figure for his role in the Highland Clearances.
Sutherland was the eldest son of the Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford, by his second wife Lady Louisa, daughter of Scroop Egerton, 1st Duke of Bridgwater. Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville, was his half-brother. He was educated at Westminster and at Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated MA in 1777.
Sutherland sat as Member of Parliament for Newcastle-under-Lyme from 1779 to 1784 and for Staffordshire from 1787 to 1799. The latter year he was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron Gower. Between 1790 and 1792 he was Ambassador to France, despite not having any previous diplomatic experience. The embassy was withdrawn in August 1792 after the imprisonment of the royal family during the French Revolution. After his return to Britain he declined the posts of Lord Steward of the Household and Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. However, in 1799 he accepted the office of joint Postmaster General, which he retained until 1801. Sutherland played an important part in the downfall of Henry Addington's administration in 1804, after which he changed political allegiance from the Tory to the Whig party. After 1807 he played little part in politics, although late in life he supported Catholic Emancipation and the 1832 Reform Act.
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