Thomas Cochrane, 1st Baron Cochrane of Cults

Thomas Horatio Arthur Ernest Cochrane, 1st Baron Cochrane of Cults (2 April 1857 – 17 January 1951), was a Scottish soldier and Liberal Unionist politician. He was Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department under Arthur Balfour between 1902 and 1905.

Background and education Cochrane was the second son of Thomas Cochrane, 11th Earl of Dundonald, and Louisa Harriet, daughter of William Mackinnon, and the younger brother of Douglas Cochrane, 12th Earl of Dundonald. He was educated at Eton and Cheltenham College.

Military career Cochrane was an honorary lieutenant colonel of the 4th Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, and served in the 93rd Highlanders and the Scots Guards. He served in the Second Boer War, where he was Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General. He was also a lieutenant colonel of the 2/7 Black Watch from 1914 to 1917. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain from 1895 to 1901 and served in Arthur Balfour's Unionist administration as Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department from August 1902 to 1905.

Lord Cochrane of Cults was also a Deputy Lieutenant and Justice of the Peace for Fife. In 1934 he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Law from the University of St Andrews.