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

Family

Maxwell 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 Charterhouse may refer to: * Charterhouse (monastery), of the Carthusian religious order Charterhouse may also refer to: Places * The Charterhouse, Coventry, a former monastery * Charterhouse School, an English public school in Surrey Londo ...

and

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...

, and the Royal College of Defence Studies. He married Susan Angela More O'Ferrall, a member of an aristocratic Irish family and granddaughter of Sir Henry Mather-Jackson, 6th Bt., on 19 July 1974. They have four children: *Maxwell Francis Aitken (born 17 March 1977) married Inés Nieto Gómez-Valencia on 9 November 2007. They have two children. **Giuletta Ines Susanna Aitken (born 1 December 2011) **Maxwell Alfonso Aitken (born 16 December 2014) *Alexander Rory Aitken (born 1978) married Alexandra Meredyth Anne Proby on 10 February 2007. They have three daughters. *Charlotte Susanna Aitken (born 1982) married

Charles Innes-Ker, Marquess of Bowmont and Cessford Captain Charles Robert George Innes-Ker, 11th Duke of Roxburghe (born 18 February 1981), also known as Charles Innes or Charlie Roxburghe, is a British aristocrat and soldier. Biography Captain Charles Robert George Innes-Ker is the 11th Duke o ...

on 22 July 2011 and were divorced on 24 May 2012. Married Francesco Bellasi on 30 March 2019. They have a son. *Sophia Violet Angela Aitken (born 1985) married Marchese Ugolino Bourbon di Petrella on 23 April 2016. They have a son, Tommaso (born 2018), and a daughter, Maddalena (born 2020).

Political career

Lord Beaverbrook was a

Lord in Waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (withou ...

(1986–1988) and the

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

and the

European Democrat Union The European Democrat Union (EDU) is one of the three European wings of the International Democrat Union, along with the European People's Party (EPP) and the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE). Its members include Christia ...

(1990–1992).

Military career

In 2004, Lord Beaverbrook was appointed Honorary Air Commodore of 4624 Squadron,

Royal Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces (Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary rein ...

(RAuxAF). In 2009 he was promoted to be Honorary Inspector General, RAuxAF, in the rank of

Air Vice-Marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

. In May 2016 he was appointed to the new post of Commandant General RAuxAF, with attendance at the

Air Force Board The Air Force Board of the Defence Council is responsible for the management of the Royal Air Force. Prior to the creation of the current UK Ministry of Defence in 1964, the administration of the RAF and its personnel was undertaken by the A ...

. He retired in July 2019.

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 The Beaverbrook Art Gallery is a public art gallery in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. It is named after William Maxwell "Max" Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook, who funded the building of the gallery and assembled the original collection. It opened i ...

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 Peter deCarteret Cory, (October 25, 1925 – April 7, 2020) was a puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Canada, from 1989 to 1999. Early life and education Born in Windsor, Ontario, the son of Andrew and Mildred (Beresford Howe) Cory, he was edu ...

, 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 The British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) is an exclusive invitation-only members club for racecar drivers who are judged to have achieved success in the upper levels of motor sport for a number of seasons. Except under exceptional circumstances, me ...

from 2006 to 2008, and elected again from September 2015. He is currently a Vice President of the British Powerboat Racing Club. He won the European GT Championship in 1998 with Porsche, and competed in the FIA World GT Championship in 1999, and in the American Le Mans series in 2000. He won the Harmsworth Trophy (offshore powerboating) in 2004. He was a member of the Council of the Homeopathic Trust 1987–1992; and remains a Vice President of Ambition UK, and is a Patron of London's Air Ambulance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaverbrook, Maxwell Aitken, 3rd Baron 1951 births Living people People educated at Charterhouse School Maxwell Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge 3 Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers Honorary air commodores Royal Air Force air marshals English people of Canadian descent English people of Scottish descent Beaverbrook