James Johnston (c. 1655 – 3 May 1737) was a Scottish diplomat and Tory politician who served as envoy extraordinary to Prussia from 1690 to 1692. He also served Secretary of State, Scotland from 1692 to 1696 and Lord Clerk Register from 1704 to 1705. Johnston sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1708 to 1713.
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Early life
Johnston was baptised on 9 September 1655, the fourth and second surviving son of Lord Warriston, Archibald Johnston of Warriston, north of Edinburgh, and his second wife Helen Hay, daughter of Alexander Hay, Lord Fosterseat. Johnston's father was executed by Charles II on 26 July 1663 for having served under Cromwell. Johnston, with other members of his family, fled to the Dutch Republic after his father's death. He studied law in Utrecht. After travelling on the Continent, he was appointed in 1687 as secretary to Hon. Henry Sidney. In the autumn of 1687 he travelled to England and took a major part helping Sidney in the Glorious Revolution. He left England in August 1688, and returned in November with William of Orange’s expedition He was rewarded with appointment as envoy to Prussia from 1690 to 1692, taking to the Elector of Brandenburg a gift of the Order of the Garter.