John Sinclair, 1st Baron Pentland, was a British politician in the Scottish Liberal Party, a soldier, peer, administrator and Privy Councillor who served as the Secretary of Scotland from 1905 to 1912 and the Governor of Madras from 1912 to 1919.

The secretary of state for Scotland, also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. Much of the Secretary of State for Scotland's responsibility transferred to the office of the First Minister of Scotland upon the re–establishment of both the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament in 1999 following the Scotland Act 1998.