Drummond, John (1649–1715), earl and titular duke of Melfort , statesman, diplomat, and art connoisseur, was second son of James, 3rd earl of Perth, and his wife Anne, eldest daughter of the 2nd marquis of Huntly. His elder brother, James, became 4th earl of Perth. Drummond's early career saw him appointed a captain in the Scots foot guards (1673), a Scottish privy councillor (1678), and master of the ordnance (1680). In 1682, after the death of the earl of Lauderdale, John Drummond and his brother came to dominate Scottish affairs. Appointed secretary of state for Scotland in 1684, he resided mainly in London thereafter and attended English privy council meetings. On the accession of James II (qv) in February 1685 Drummond and his brother converted to catholicism. In April he was created Viscount Melfort, and the following year earl of Melfort . He became a knight of the order of the thistle on 6 June 1687.
In November 1688 Melfort initially urged the king to stand firm when William of Orange (qv) invaded England, but later advised James to send his son to France. He fled London on 13 December 1688 and made his way to the French royal court, where he became James's principal secretary of state. He travelled to Ireland with the deposed king, arriving in March 1689, was appointed secretary of state for Ireland, and was sworn a member of the privy council. More significantly, he was a member of James's inner council in Ireland in 1689, along with Avaux (qv) and Tyrconnell (qv). The latter two soon came to disagree with him over policy, and in Tyrconnell's case over his own loss of influence over the king. They favoured securing Ireland completely before moving on to Britain, while Melfort advocated joining with the Jacobites in Scotland at the first opportunity. It is arguable that subsequent events proved Melfort right, considering the failure of the Irish campaign. He was also opposed to James's making any concessions in order to return to power, and was responsible for the sending of an uncompromising declaration to the convention of the estates in Scotland (April 1689). He presented a memorandum to Avaux (May 1689), arguing for an invasion of either England or Scotland. His unpopularity grew with everyone, including the army, and his mismanagement of military affairs was blamed for the failure of the siege of Derry and defeat at Newtownbutler (30–31 July 1689). As a military organiser he was regarded as incompetent. At the end of August 1689, after threats to his life, his request to be allowed to go to France was granted.
In September 1689 Melfort returned to France as James II's ambassador to the Louvre. There, he continued to argue for an invasion of England, increasing his unpopularity with the French. On 6 October he was appointed Stuart ambassador to the new pope, Alexander VIII, and arrived in Rome the following December. His attempt to secure financial aid for the Irish campaign failed; he found that an anti-French, Habsburg interest dominated the papal court. He was recalled to France in September 1691, where he was restored to the office of secretary of state. While there, Melfort involved himself in the affairs of Irish troops that had come into France. He also continued to press for an invasion of England. The French eventually relented and prepared an invasion fleet. Melfort drew up another uncompromising pro-Jacobite declaration as a forerunner to this offensive. This invasion came to nothing, however, as the French fleet was first destroyed by bad weather and then by a combined Anglo–Dutch fleet at the battle of Cape La Hogue (19–24 May 1692).
Prior to this defeat, in April 1692, Melfort had become a KG and was created a duke. He was instructed to keep the bestowment of the last honour secret, however, as it would rouse his opponents’ anger. His detractors continued to undermine him, and in 1693 obliged him to share the secretaryship of state with his political opponent, the earl of Middleton. He was completely removed from office in June 1694 and was banished from both the Jacobite court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Paris, though he was politically protected by James II with a pardon under the great seals of England and Scotland for all offences committed during his (Melfort's) lifetime. From October 1697, after the treaty of Ryswick, he was allowed to visit the Jacobite court again. Allowed to return to Paris in 1701, after James II's death, he was given the French title of duc de Melfort by Louis XIV. When a letter he sent to his brother, discussing the possibility of a French invasion of England, was intercepted and published in England, he was again banished from Paris, this time by Louis XIV, who was then trying to maintain the peace with England. In February 1705 Melfort was reconciled with the earl of Middleton and James II's widow, Mary of Modena, who recognised the grant of the dukedom previously made to him by her husband. He turned the remaining years of his life to the patronage of art and art collection. He died in January 1715 and was buried in Saint-Sulpice in Paris.
He married first (30 September 1670) Sophia, daughter of Robert Maitland of Lundin, and secondly (1680) Euphamia, daughter of Sir Thomas Wallace of Craigie. His first marriage produced male heirs, who gained their mother's estate, but they were later disallowed from inheriting their father's peerages when he was ennobled, as they were protestant and he had converted to catholicism. His son by his second marriage, John, was raised a catholic. Melfort was survived by his second wife and the children of his two marriages.