John Balfour, 1st Baron Kinross

The Right Honourable The Lord Kinross PC QC
Lord Justice General
In office 1899–1905
Monarch	Victoria Edward VII
Preceded by	James Robertson
Succeeded by	Andrew Graham Murray
Member of Parliament for Clackmannan and Kinross
In office 29 April 1880 – December 1899
Preceded by	Sir William Adam
Succeeded by	Eugene Wason
Personal details
Spouse(s)	Lilias, Lady Kinross
Children	5

John Blair Balfour, 1st Baron Kinross PC QC (11 July 1837 – 22 January 1905) was a Scottish lawyer and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1880 to 1899.

Balfour was born in Clackmannan, the son of Rev. P Balfour Minister of Clackmannan and his wife Jane Ramsay Blair, daughter of John Blair. He was educated at the Edinburgh Academy and Edinburgh University, becoming an advocate of the Scottish bar in 1861. He served as Advocate Depute from 1870 to 1872, and in 1880 was made a Queen's Counsel. He was a Deputy Lieutenant for Edinburgh.

At the 1880 general election, Balfour stood unsuccessfully for parliament at Ayrshire North but in a by election six months later was elected Liberal Member of Parliament for Clackmannan and Kinross. He was appointed Solicitor General for Scotland in 1880 and in 1881 he succeeded this appointment by becoming Lord Advocate, a post he held for four years. In 1882 he became a Privy Counsellor.

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 of Scotland and Lord President of the Court of Session. In the 1902 Coronation Honours 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 of Haddingtonshire. He took the oath and his seat in the House of Lords the following month, on 7 August.

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