Michael John Layton, 2nd Baron Layton (28 September 1912 – 23 January 1989), was, with his father

Walter Layton, 1st Baron Layton Walter Thomas Layton, 1st Baron Layton (15 March 1884 – 14 February 1966), was a British economist, editor, newspaper proprietor and Liberal Party politician. Background and education Layton was the son of Alfred John Layton of Woking, Surre ...

, a founder member, and President (1983–1989) of the

European-Atlantic Group The European-Atlantic Group (E-AG) is a non-governmental organization which aims to promote closer relations between the European and Atlantic countries by providing a forum in Britain for discussion of their problems and possibilities for better e ...

, and was an active Internationalist.

Biography

He was born in 1910 and his parents were Lord and Lady Layton. Lord Layton was educated at St Paul's School, and

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

. He married, in 1938, Dorothy, daughter of Albert Cross, and succeeded his father in the hereditary barony in February 1966. He was a businessman with numerous directorships, including ''The

News Chronicle The ''News Chronicle'' was a British daily newspaper. Formed by the merger of '' The Daily News'' and the ''Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, it ceased publication on 17 October 1960,''Liberal Democrat News'' 15 October 2010, accessed 15 October 2010 be ...

'' (1950-1960), ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

'' (1973-1985), and the

Steel Company of Wales The Steel Company of Wales Ltd was a Welsh steel and tinplate producer. It was formed in 1947 and absorbed into British Steel Corporation in 1967, British Steel then merged with Hoogovens and became Corus UK Limited. The business now forms par ...

, which was merged with the

British Steel Corporation British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, (1967-1977), having served as Chairman of BSC in 1966, 1973, and 1975, and President (1983-1988). Lord Layton was a Member for

Metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

of the

Allied Control Commission Following the termination of hostilities in World War II, the Allies were in control of the defeated Axis countries. Anticipating the defeat of Germany and Japan, they had already set up the European Advisory Commission and a proposed Far Eastern ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, later being on the Economic Sub-Committee which founded the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries ...

(OECD) in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. He became a fervent supporter of the

Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and also known colloquially as the Tories, is one of the Two-party system, two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party. ...

in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

, where he made a number of speeches on the Steel industry, Economics, and International Affairs. He was succeeded by his son and heir, Geoffrey Michael Layton, 3rd Baron Layton (b. 1947), who, like his father and grandfather, joined the Committee of the

References

*''Dod's Parliamentary Companion 1968'', 146th edition, published by Business Directories Ltd., Sell's House, Epsom, Surrey. *''European-Atlantic Group Reports 1954 - 1989'', London; (Obituary on page 2). 1912 births 1989 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom People educated at St Paul's School, London Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers {{UK-baron-stub