Politician. Born at Brechin Castle, the Panmure family home in Angus. Maule joined the army where he remained until 1832, rising to the rank of Captain. He was elected as a Liberal Member of Parliament for Perthshire (1835-37 and 1838-52) and became an under-Secretary of State (1835-41) and Vice-President of the Board of Trade (1841) both in the cabinet of Lord Melbourne. He then served as Secretary at War (1846-52) in the administration of Lord Russell. Maule inherited the Barony of Panmure from his father (1852), becoming the 2nd Lord Panmure. In 1860, he inherited the Earldom of Dalhousie from his cousin, the Viceroy of India, James Broun-Ramsay (1812-60) and the following year assumed the Dalhousie family surname, Ramsay, which had been his grandfather's.
After the fall of the Earl of Aberdeen's administration on the issue of the Crimean War, Maule was appointed Secretary of State for War (1855-8) under Lord Palmerston. As such he was responsible for the conduct of the latter part of the war and ended up shouldering much of the blame for its disastrous execution. Nicknamed "the Bison" because of his brawny physique and bullish temperament, Maule was a forceful administrator but was often criticised for his insensitivity, especially when he tried to secure favours for a relative who was serving in the Crimea.
Maule was a great friend of Dr. Thomas Guthrie (1803-73), founder of the Free Church of Scotland, who preached regularly at Lochlee Parish Church next to Invermark Lodge, Maule's shooting lodge in Glen Esk. Maule was also a mason, becoming Grand Master of Scotland.
He died at Brechin Castle, without an heir, and thus the Barony of Panmure became extinct and the Earldom was inherited by his cousin. Maule is remembered by a granite fountain in the centre of the town of Brechin and a window in the Maule Memorial Church, Tarfside (Angus).
