Scottish-born council president of Cape Coast, West Africa, who laid the groundwork for British rule of the Gold Coast.

An officer of the Royal African Colonial Corps, Maclean served in Sierra Leone and the Gold Coast in 1826–28, and from 1830 to 1844 he was chief administrator of the Cape Coast settlement. In this post he made peace with the Asante empire of the interior and greatly increased British power by establishing an informal protectorate over the Fante states (Fante confederacy) along the coast. Although the colony prospered under his rule, he was accused of profiteering and of failing to suppress slavery. In 1838 he married the poet and novelist Letitia Elizabeth Landon (Landon, Letitia Elizabeth) (known by her initials, L.E.L.), and her mysterious death a few months later further damaged his reputation. Removed as council president in 1844, Maclean continued to direct relations with the Fante states until his death.