Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland, French-English lawyer and politician, Lord President of the Council (born 1640)

Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland, was an English nobleman and politician of the Spencer family. An able and gifted statesman, his caustic temper and belief in absolute monarchy nevertheless made him numerous enemies. He was forced to flee England in 1688, but later established himself with the new regime after the Glorious Revolution of that year. Subsequently, he took on a more disinterested role as an adviser to the Crown, seeking neither office nor favour. He evinced no party loyalty, but was devoted to his country's interests, as he saw them. By the notoriously lax standards of the Restoration Court, his private life was remarkably free from scandal, which won him favour in the more sober post-Revolution state.

The Lord President of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. The Lord President usually attends and is responsible for chairing the meetings of the Privy Council, presenting business for the approval of the Sovereign.