William Dundas was a Scottish

Scottish people

The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...

 politician.

The son of Robert Dundas, Lord Arniston, the younger

Robert Dundas, Lord Arniston, the younger

Robert Dundas, Lord Arniston, the younger was a Scottish judge.The eldest son of Robert Dundas , he was deducated at Edinburgh University and studied Roman law at Utrecht University....

, he became a barrister at Lincoln's Inn

Lincoln's Inn

The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...

 in 1788. He was Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) for the Anstruther Burghs from 1794 to 1796

British general election, 1796

The British general election, 1796 returned members to serve in the 18th and last House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain to be held before the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801...

, for the Northern Burghs

Tain Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)

Tain Burghs, was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832, sometimes known as Northern Burghs. It was represented by one Member of Parliament .The first election in Tain Burghs was in 1708...

 from 1796 to 1802, for Sutherland

Sutherland (UK Parliament constituency)

Sutherland was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918. It represented essentially the traditional county of Sutherland, electing one Member of Parliament...

 in 1802 and 1806, for Cullen in 1810 and Edinburgh

Edinburgh (UK Parliament constituency)

Edinburgh was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 1885. Originally a single member constituency, representation was increased to two members in 1832...

 from 1812 to 1831.

He appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1800 and was Secretary at War

Secretary at War

The Secretary at War was a political position in the English and later British government, with some responsibility over the administration and organization of the Army, but not over military policy. The Secretary at War ran the War Office. It was occasionally a cabinet level position, although...

 from 1804 to 1806. He was a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty in 1812. He was appointed Keeper of the Signet in 1814 and Lord Clerk Register

Lord Clerk Register

The office of Lord Clerk Register is the oldest surviving Great Officer of State in Scotland, with origins in the 13th century.The Clerk-Register was from ancient times the principal Clerk in the kingdom, from whom all other clerks, whatever their government positions, and who were essentially his...

in 1821.