| Honorific-Prefix: | The Right Honourable |
| The Earl of Minto | |
| Order1: | First Lord of the Admiralty |
| Term Start1: | 15 September 1835 |
| Term End1: | 30 August 1841 |
| Monarch1: | William IV Queen Victoria |
| Primeminister1: | The Viscount Melbourne |
| Predecessor1: | The Lord Auckland |
| Successor1: | The Earl of Haddington |
| Birth Date: | 16 November 1782 |
| Nationality: | British |
| Education: | Eton College |
| Alma Mater: | St. John's College, Cambridge University of Edinburgh |
| Spouse: | Mary Brydone (d. 1853) |
| Children: | 10 |
| Parents: | Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto Anna Maria Amyand |
Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 2nd Earl of Minto, (;[1] 16 November 178231 July 1859), styled as Viscount Melgund between 1813 and 1814, was a British diplomat and Whig politician.
Minto was the eldest son of the Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto, and Anna Maria, daughter of Sir George Amyand, 1st Baronet.[2] He was educated at Eton, St John's College, Cambridge and University of Edinburgh.[3]
Minto was returned to Parliament for Ashburton in Devon in 1806, a seat he held until 1807, and then represented Roxburghshire between 1812 and 1814. He took a dim view of the Prince Regent and his government. The latter year he succeeded his father in the earldom and took his seat in the House of Lords. He was admitted to Privy Council in 1832.[4]
From 1832 to 1834 he was Minister to Prussia. In 1835 he was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty under Lord Melbourne, a post he held until 1841, and later served as Lord Privy Seal under Lord John Russell from 1846 to 1852. In his youth, Elliot had gone to Corsica where his father was viceroy and he developed an abiding affection for Italy. He served as special envoy to Switzerland, Sardinia, Tuscany, Rome, Sicily in 1847–8.[4] His influence in the Whig party was partly because his daughter, Lady Frances, was the wife of Lord John Russell.[5]
Lord Minto married Mary, daughter of Patrick Brydone, in 1806. They had at least five sons and five daughters. Lady Minto died in July 1853. Lord Minto survived her by six years and died in July 1859, aged 75. He was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son, William.