Demetri P. Marchessini (20 July 1934 – 6 March 2016) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

businessman. He was among the largest donors to the

UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...

and gave £15,000 to the party during 2013."The Ukip donor who says gay people are incapable of love"
''Channel 4 News'', 30 April 2014, accessed 30 April 2014. He died on 6 March 2016.

Personal life

Born in Athens, he was educated at

Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kill ...

, Massachusetts, and at Harvard Law School, Harvard. He married Lucinda Hilary Roberts, a daughter of

Owen Roberts Owen Josephus Roberts (May 2, 1875 – May 17, 1955) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1930 to 1945. He also led two Roberts Commissions, the first of which investigated the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the sec ...

and sister of the former Camilla, Countess Erne (first wife of

Henry Crichton, 6th Earl Erne Henry George Victor John Crichton, 6th Earl Erne, KCVO (9 July 1937 – 23 December 2015), was an Anglo-Irish peer and a Lord Lieutenant of Fermanagh. He was known to his family and friends as Harry Erne. Biography Lord Erne was the eldest son ...

), in 1961. They lived first in New York, and then in London with their four daughters, Lucinda (who married

Patrick Lawrence, 5th Baron Trevethin Patrick John Tristram Lawrence, 5th Baron Trevethin and 3rd Baron Oaksey, (born 29 June 1960) is a British barrister, hereditary peer and crossbench member of the House of Lords. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford. He is a barrister practi ...

), Cassandra, Atalanta and Tatiana Marchessini. He lived in Wilton Crescent, Belgravia, London.

Political views

Marchessini has published polemical works. ''Modern Myths: And The Realities Behind Them'' (1997) arguing against certain political correct opinions. ''Women In Trousers'' was a photo-essay on women's fashion which aroused much controversy when it was published, and received critical coverage in several newspapers. Liz Hoggard in ''The Observer'' describing it as "offensive, outdated, misogynistic claptrap." He wrote: "Women know that men don't like trousers, yet they deliberately wear them". According to him: "This is hostile behaviour - they are deliberately dressing in a way that is opposite to what men would like. It is behaviour that flies against common sense, and also flies against the normal human desire to please." A later book, ''Scams & Hypocrisies'' looked at perceived popular myths. On his blog, Marchessini has written that unmarried mothers are "naughty girls" who deserve a "smack" and that date rape accusations can only be meaningless because without a "violent act it is difficult to know whether any rape took place". On 28 January 2014, ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' published an advertisement by Marchessini, in effect a comment piece which took the form of an 'open letter to

Libby Purves Elizabeth Mary Purves, (born 2 February 1950) is a British radio presenter, journalist and author. Early life and career Born in London, a diplomat's daughter, Purves was raised in her mother's Catholic faith and educated at convent school ...

'. in which he criticised the 'pro-gay' opinions of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' columnist and dismissed her opposition to the government policies of Russia's

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

on this issue which she had expressed in an article on 20 January. Responding, Purves was quoted in the ''

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'': "He is free to approve of the beatings and hangings of young men across the world in the name of what he considers religion. In the same spirit, I am free to say he is a loony." In 2013, Marchessini made donations totalling £10,000 to the

, ultimately the sixth largest donor to the party that year. Following criticism of his views in 2013, he stated he would no longer give money to UKIP: "There's been such a fuss about what I've given it's a bore." At the time of the ''Telegraph'' advertisement, a UKIP spokeswoman said that Marchessini had severed his connection with the party after the organisation had "publicly opposed the crazy female trouser-wearing comments."

''Channel 4 News'' interview

In the run-up to the

2014 European Parliament election The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union, from 22 to 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties fielded candid ...

, Michael Crick of

Channel 4 News ''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982. Current productions ''Channel 4 News'' ''Channel 4 News'' ...

interviewed Marchessini, in what Crick believed was the businessman's first ever television interview. Contrary to earlier reports, UKIP had continued to solicit donations from him, and a further donation of £5,000 (in addition to the previously admitted £10,000) had been made on 24 December 2013. In the interview, Marchessini also asserted that homosexuals are motivated by lust rather than love, said that rape was impossible within a marriage, and reasserted his opinions about women wearing trousers. According to him, only skirts excite men and he advocated a ban on the practice of women wearing trousers. Swear word censored in the source and bleeped out in the television report.

Bibliography

* * (photographs by Adrian Mott) *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marchessini, Demetri 1934 births 2016 deaths Greek businesspeople Greek expatriates in England Greek writers Harvard Law School alumni UK Independence Party donors Williams College alumni