James Ogilvy was a Scottish statesman and one of the key Scottish politicians involved in the Union between Scotland and England in 1707. Originally trained as a lawyer, Ogilvy was an MP for Cullen in Banffshire between 1689 and 1695. He held a number of important positions, including that of Solicitor-General, Secretary of State and Lord High Commissioner of the Church of Scotland. In 1702 he was appointed Lord Chancellor of Scotland and in that capacity he played an important part in negotiating the Act of Union. After the treaty was signed, Ogilvy was chosen as one of sixteen peers to represent Scotland in the new Parliament of Great Britain. By 1713, however, he had changed his mind on the union and appealed unsuccessfully for its reversal