Paul Methuen (diplomat)

Sir Paul Methuen PC KB (c. 1672 – 11 April 1757), of Bishops Cannings, Wiltshire, was an English diplomat and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1708 and 1747.

That led to the Methuen commercial treaty between England and Portugal, the basis of Britain's monopoly of Portuguese trade for much of the 18th century.

On his return to England to obtain military supplies he was appointed Minister to Savoy, but succeeded his father as ambassador to Portugal on the latter's death in July 1706.

He served on three committees, including one on 9 March 1709 to draft a bill to prohibit French wines and other products more effectively, reflecting his mercantile connections and experience in negotiating commercial treaties.

He asked to be removed from the Board of Admiralty, because he considered himself unsuitable, and refused another public office.

At the 1713 British general election, he was returned in a contest as MP for Brackley (Northamptonshire) in the interest of the Earl of Bridgwater, but was unseated on petition on 20 April 1714.

[3] Methuen died, unmarried, in 1757, and was buried in the south aisle of Westminster Abbey, near his father John.