Maxwell Aitken, 3rd Baron Beaverbrook

Updated on Nov 15, 2023

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Name Maxwell 3rd Cousins Jeanne Campbell		Role Politician Aunts Janet Gladys Aitken
Parents Sir Max Aitken, 2nd Baronet Education Pembroke College, Cambridge Grandparents Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, Gladys Henderson Drury Great-grandparents Charles William Drury, Mary Louise Drury

Maxwell William Humphrey Aitken, 3rd Baron Beaverbrook, (born 29 December 1951) is a British peer and politician.

Family

Aitken is the grandson of the 1st Baron Beaverbrook and the only son of Sir Max Aitken, by his third marriage to Violet de Trafford. He was educated at Charterhouse and Pembroke College, Cambridge and the Royal College of Defence Studies.

He married Susan Angela More O'Ferrall, granddaughter of Sir Henry Mather-Jackson, 6th Bt. on 19 July 1974. They have four children:

1) The Honourable Maxwell Francis Aitken (born 1977), who is the heir apparent. He married Ines Nieto Gomez-Valencia, daughter of Don Jose Ventura Nieto Valencia, on 9 November 2007 in Spain. They have a daughter and a son.

2) The Honourable Alexander Rory Aitken (born 1978), married Alexandra Meredyth Anne Proby (b. 1980, eldest daughter of Sir William Henry Proby, 3rd Bt. and his wife, Meredyth Anne (nee Brentnall), on 10 February 2007. They have two daughters.

3) The Honourable Charlotte Susanna Aitken (born 1982), married the Marquess of Bowmont and Cessford, eldest son and heir of the Duke of Roxburghe on 22 July 2011. However, the couple separated in summer 2012, and have since divorced.

4) The Honourable Sophia Violet Angela Aitken (born 1983), unmarried.

Political career

Lord Beaverbrook was a Lord in Waiting (1986–1988) and the Treasurer of the Conservative Party and the European Democrat Union (1990–1992). He was Chairman of VenTech Healthcare Corporation (1986) and (1988–1992). From 2000 to 2007 he was Chairman of Net Integration Technologies Inc of Toronto, now part of IBM. He is Chairman of Cherif Investment Properties Limited and a Director of Ansgate Barnes Holdco Limited, a property development company, and Director of Linea Coche SRL.

Military career

In 2004 Lord Beaverbrook was appointed Honorary Air Commodore of 4624 Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force. In 2009 he was promoted to be Honorary Inspector General, RAuxAF, in the rank of Air Vice-Marshal.

Beaverbrook Foundation

He is Chairman of the Beaverbrook Foundation and has been a trustee since 1974. In 2003 The Beaverbrook Foundation claimed that 133 valuable paintings in the Beaverbrook Art Gallery given to the gallery by the first Lord Beaverbrook were not donated, but were instead on long term loan from the Beaverbrook Foundation. The paintings were estimated to be worth approximately C$100 million. On 26 March 2007, the arbiter in the case, retired Supreme Court Justice Peter Cory, ruled that 85 paintings donated to the gallery before opening in the 1950s belong to the gallery, but that 48 paintings transferred after the opening belong to the Beaverbrook Foundation. The arbitration ruling was appealed and a settlement was reached in 2010. Another case between the Beaverbrook Canadian Foundation, chaired by Lord Beaverbrook's son, Max, and the Beaverbrook Art Gallery has also been settled.

Other activity

He was a director of the British Racing Drivers Club from 2006 to 2008, and remains a member as at late 2015. He is currently a Vice President of the British Powerboat Racing Club.

References

Maxwell Aitken, 3rd Baron Beaverbrook Wikipedia

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