William Eliot, 2nd Earl of St Germans (1 April 1767 – 19 January 1845), known as William Elliot until 1823, was a British diplomat and politician.

Eliot was born at Port Eliot

Port Eliot

Port Eliot in St Germans, Cornwall, is the seat of the Eliot family, whose current head is Peregrine Eliot, 10th Earl of St Germans. Port Eliot comprises a house with its own church which is the parish church of St Germans. An earlier church building was the cathedral for the whole of Cornwall...

, Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

, the third son of Edward Craggs-Eliot, 1st Baron Eliot

Edward Craggs-Eliot, 1st Baron Eliot

Edward Craggs-Eliot, 1st Baron Eliot was born to Richard Eliot and Harriot Craggs , the illegitimate daughter of the Privy Counsellor and Secretary of State, James Craggs and Hester Santlow, the noted...

 and his wife Catherine (née Elliston). He was educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge

Pembroke College, Cambridge

Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...

, taking an M.A. in 1786. From November 1791 until 1793 he was a Secretary of Legation at Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, from 1793 to 1794 Secretary of Embassy and Minister Plenipotentiary at The Hague

The Hague

The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

 and from 1796 Minister Plenipotentiary to the Elector Palatine and to the Diet of Ratisbon. Eliot also sat as Tory 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,...

 for St Germans

St Germans (UK Parliament constituency)

St Germans was a rotten borough in Cornwall which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the English and later British Parliament from 1562 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...

 from 1791 to 1802 and for Liskeard

Liskeard (UK Parliament constituency)

Liskeard was a parliamentary borough in Cornwall, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1832, and then one member from 1832 until 1885, when the borough was abolished.- History :...

 from 1802 to 1823 and served as a Lord of the Admiralty from 1800 to 1804 and as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 1804 to 1805. In 1823 he succeeded his elder brother as second Earl of St Germans and entered the House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

.

Family

Lord St Germans married four times.

1. On 30 November 1797 at Trentham, Staffordshire
   Trentham, Staffordshire
   Trentham is a suburb of Stoke-on-Trent, located to the south-west of the city centre and to the south of the neighbouring town of Newcastle-under-Lyme. Although the majority of Trentham is within the city limits, it is mostly separated from the main urban area by surrounding open space and the...
   
    to Georgina Augusta Leveson-Gower (13 April 1769 - 24 March 1806). Georgina was the daughter of Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford
   Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford
   Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford PC , known as Viscount Trentham from 1746 to 1754 and as The Earl Gower from 1754 to 1786, was a British politician.-Background:...
   
   . William and Georgiana had one son and three daughters
   1. Edward Granville Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans
      Edward Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans
      Edward Granville Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans GCB , DL, LL.D, PC , styled Lord Elliot from 1823 to 1845, was a British politician and diplomat.-Background and education:...
      
      (29 August 1798 - 7 October 1877)
   2. Caroline Georgina Eliot (27 July 1799 - April 1865)
   3. Susan Caroline Eliot (12 April 1801 - 15 January 1835)
   4. Charlotte Sophia Eliot (28 May 1802 - 8 July 1839)
2. On 13 February 1809 at Heytesbury
   Heytesbury
   Heytesbury is a village in Wiltshire, England, in the Wylye Valley, about three miles south of Warminster.-History:...
   
   , Wiltshire
   Wiltshire
   Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
   
   , to Letitia A'Court (d. 20 January 1810), with no issue.
3. On 7 March 1812 at the Earl of Powis' House, Berkeley Square, London, to Charlotte Robinson (1790 - 3 July 1813), with no issue.
4. On 30 August 1814 at Walton, Warwickshire
   Walton, Warwickshire
   Walton is a small hamlet just south of Wellesbourne in Warwickshire, England. It is next to the River Dene and is most notable for Walton Hall which is now an hotel and spa. It is home to the Hamiltons who own the land...
   
   , to Susan Mordaunt (d. 5 February 1830), with no issue.