Benedict Murray-Bruce (born 18 February 1956) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

business magnate and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

. He is the founder of

Silverbird Group The Silverbird Group is a diversified multi-media company with holdings in Radio, Television, Real Estate, and Cinemas headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. The company was established in 1980 by Ben Murray-Bruce and counts Silverbird Cinemas and the M ...

. A member of the People's Democratic Party, he was elected to the

Senate of Nigeria The Senate is the upper chamber of Nigeria's bicameral legislature, the National Assembly of Nigeria. The National Assembly (popularly referred to as NASS) is the nation's highest legislature, whose power is to make laws, is summarized in chapt ...

in March 2015 where he represented the Bayelsa East Senatorial District, in

Bayelsa State Bayelsa is one of the states in the South-South region of Nigeria, located in the core of the Niger Delta region. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation. Yena ...

, Nigeria.

Early life and education

Ben Murray-Bruce was born in Lagos, to

mixed race Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...

Ijaw Ijaw may refer to: *Ijaw people The Izon people or Izon Otu, otherwise known as the Ijaw people due to the historic mispronunciation of the name ''Izon'', are an ethnic group majorly found in the Niger Delta in Nigeria, with significant populatio ...

parents Mullighan and Margaret Murray-Bruce who both hail from Akassa,

, Nigeria. His surname is of Scottish origin. He attended Our Lady of Apostles, Yaba, Lagos, where he completed his primary education and St Gregory College, Obalende where he obtained the West African School Certificate before he proceeded to the University of South Carolina in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, where he received a bachelor's degree in

Marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...

in 1979.

Personal life

Ben Murray-Bruce was married to Evelyn Murray-Bruce for 41 years. On March 20, 2021, he announced her passing after her battles with cancer.

Career

Early beginnings

Ben has served in various public positions. He served as Director-General of

Nigerian Television Authority The Nigerian Television Authority or NTA is a Nigerian government-owned and partly commercial broadcast station. Originally known as Nigerian Television (NTV), it was inaugurated in 1977 with a monopoly on national television broadcasting, after ...

from 1999 to 2003. Prior to starting Silverbird Group, he promoted the

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

Nigeria Pageant in 1983
Miss Intercontinental Pageant
1986-1994 and to date, he promotes the annual Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria Pageant which he began in 1986. He is currently a Member of the Board of

National Arts Theatre The National Theatre, Nigeria is the primary centre for the performing arts in Nigeria. The monument is located in Iganmu, Surulere, Lagos. Its construction was completed in 1976 in preparation for the Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC) in ...

, Nigerian Film Corporation, Federal Films Censors Board, National Film Distribution Company and Nigerian Anti- Piracy Action Committee.

Show business

In an interview with ''Connect Nigeria'', Ben said he got into show business "by accident". His passion for show business made him and his wife to establish the now defunct ''Silverbird Magazine'' in 1980 with a loan from his father. Ben later went into promoting concerts.

Politics

In 2011, Ben Murray-Bruce ran for the governorship of Bayelsa State which was unsuccessful after he was screened out of the gubernatorial race under the umbrella of the People's Democratic Party. On 27 October 2014, Ben later declared his intention to represent Bayelsa East Senatorial District at the National Assembly under the umbrella of the People's Democratic Party which he went on to win.

Public speaking

Bruce has spoken at a number of national and international events, in January 2018 he shared the stage alongside politicians and

thought leaders In their most common sense, the terms thought and thinking refer to conscious cognitive processes that can happen independently of sensory stimulation. Their most paradigmatic forms are judging, reasoning, concept formation, problem solving, a ...

at the inaugural ''Nigerian American Business Forum'' in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, figures such as; senator Mohammed Shaaba Lafiagi, Media pioneer

Biodun Shobanjo Biodun Shobanjo is the Chairman of Troyka. Early life Shobanjo lost his father at the age of 15 years, which ushered the turning point in his life and a ‘half scholarship. References {{DEFAULTSORT:Shobanjo, Biodun Living people Businessp ...

, NSE chairman Abimbola Ogunbanjo, motivational speaker Fela Durotoye, former governor

Peter Obi Peter Gregory Obi (born 19 July 1961) is a Nigerian businessman and politician who served as governor of Anambra from March to November 2006, February to May 2007, and from June 2007 to March 2014. In May 2022, he became the Labour Party can ...

and Award-winning technologist Ade Olufeko.

Awards and recognition

*"Showbiz Icon of the Year Award" (2005) *""Top Ten" Significant Nigerian Businessmen Award" (2006) *"Life Achiever Award" (2006) *"Champion for Nation Building Award" (2007) *"Excellent Personality Award" (2009) *"Officer of the Order of the Niger" (2014)

References

External links

Ben Murray-Bruce's official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray-Bruce, Ben Living people 1956 births Nigerian television journalists University of South Carolina alumni Nigerian television company founders Businesspeople from Lagos 20th-century Nigerian businesspeople 21st-century Nigerian businesspeople Ijaw people St Gregory's College, Lagos alumni Peoples Democratic Party members of the Senate (Nigeria) 21st-century Nigerian politicians * Beauty pageant owners Nigerian government officials Officers of the Order of the Niger Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians