John Charles Brudenell-Bruce,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

OStJ The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of c ...

(6 March 1885 – 13 February 1960), was a

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

in the British service and a

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, a ...

who served during the years immediately after the reintroduction of

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...

in the

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Brit ...

in 1950.

Between 1916 and 1918, during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was a Second Secretary in the British Diplomatic Service. He later moved to the British Virgin Islands in the 1930s on the advice of his doctors to seek a warmer climate. He purchased an estate of approximately 230 acres on Peter Island at Little Harbour and established a small tobacco plantation. Subsequently he was elected as a member of First Legislative Council following the reintroduction of democracy in 1950. Although many of Brudenell-Bruce's family had enjoyed long and successful political careers in the United Kingdom, he did not stand in the subsequent general election. However he was appointed to complete the term of Edwin H. Leonard in the 3rd District when Leonard was unable to continue in 1955, and he served the remainder of the term. He was the first, and to date the only, white person to be elected to the British Virgin Islands legislature since the restoration of democracy in 1950.

Personal

Brudenell-Bruce was born in 1885 to Commodore Lord Robert Thomas Brudenell-Bruce and his wife, Emma. He was the grandson of

Ernest Brudenell-Bruce, 3rd Marquess of Ailesbury Ernest Augustus Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 3rd Marquess of Ailesbury PC (8 January 1811 – 18 October 1886), styled Lord Ernest Bruce from 1821 until 1878, was a British courtier and politician. He served as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household b ...

. He was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

and married Elsie Drechsel on 29 October 1913. They were subsequently divorced in 1925. In 1928 he married Sigrid Ammentorp by whom he had six children (David in 1927, Simon in 1928, Barbara in 1928, Marc in 1930, Diana in 1936 and Arabella in 1942). He died on 13 February 1960 in the British Virgin Islands at the age of 74. He was related to two hereditary titles in the

peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five Peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the ...

: the

Marquesses of Ailesbury A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

and the Earls of Cardigan.

Honors and awards

In addition to being a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, he was a Knight Commander of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

, and a Member of the Order of Saint John.

Electoral history

Footnotes

1885 births 1960 deaths British Virgin Islands politicians Members of the Order of the British Empire Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog People educated at Harrow School John {{BritishVirginIslands-politician-stub