George Sholto Douglas, 17th Earl of Morton (23 December 1789-31 March 1858), known as George Douglas until 1827, was a Scottish Tory politician.

Douglas was the son of the Hon. John Douglas, second son of James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton

James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton

James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton KT FRS was a Scottish astronomer and representative peer who was President of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh from its foundation in 1737 until his death...

. His mother was Lady Frances, daughter of Edward Lascelles, 1st Earl of Harewood

Edward Lascelles, 1st Earl of Harewood

Edward Lascelles, 1st Earl of Harewood was a British peer and Member of Parliament.Harewood was the son of Edward Lascelles, a customs officer in Barbados. On the death of the childless Edwin Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood Edward inherited the Lascelles family fortune, made in the West Indies...

. He succeeded his cousin in the earldom in 1827 and was elected a Scottish Representative Peer

Representative peer

In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords...

 in 1828. He served as a Lord-in-Waiting

Lord-in-Waiting

Most Lords in Waiting are Government whips in the House of Lords who are members of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. As members of the Royal Household their duties are nominal, though they are occasionally required to meet visiting political and state leaders on visits...

 (government whip in 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....

) from 1841 to 1846 in the second Tory administration

Conservative Government 1841-1846

Sir Robert Peel's second government came to power in 1841 after the Conservative victory in the General Election caused the Whig government of Lord Melbourne to resign. Henry Goulburn was Chancellor of the Exchequer, the future Prime Minister Lord Aberdeen Foreign Secretary and Sir James Graham...

 of Sir Robert Peel and in 1852 in the first Conservative administration

Conservative Government 1852

After the fall of Lord John Russell's Whig government in early 1852, the Tory leader Lord Derby formed a government. The Conservatives had been weakened by the defection of the Peelites, and many of the new Cabinet ministers were men of little experience. The government became known as the Who?...

 of the Earl of Derby

Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby

Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, KG, PC was an English statesman, three times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and to date the longest serving leader of the Conservative Party. He was known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley...

.

Lord Morton married Frances Theodora, daughter of Sir George Henry Rose

George Henry Rose

Sir George Henry Rose GCH PC was the eldest son of George Rose. He was Member of Parliament for Southampton from 1794–1813 and for Christchurch from 1818–32 and 1837–44, Clerk of the Parliaments from 1818–55 and sometime Envoy Extraordinary to Munich and Berlin, and to the...

, in 1817. Their second son the Hon. George Henry Douglas became an Admiral in the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. Lord Morton died in March 1858, aged 68, and was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son Sholto. Lady Morton died in 1879.