Vere Harmsworth, 3rd Viscount Rothermere
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Vere Harold Esmond Harmsworth, 3rd Viscount Rothermere (27 April 1925 – 1 September 1998), known as Vere Harmsworth until 1978, was a British newspaper magnate. He controlled large media interests in the United Kingdom and United States.


Business life

Rothermere became the Chairman of
Associated Newspapers DMG Media (stylised in lowercase) is an intermediate holding company for Associated Newspapers, Northcliffe Media, Harmsworth Printing, Harmsworth Media and other subsidiaries of Daily Mail and General Trust. It is based at Northcliffe House in ...
in 1970, taking over from his father Esmond Cecil Harmsworth, 2nd Viscount Rothermere, who had
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
. He was responsible for the relaunch of the ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
'' as a tabloid, after which its circulation increased greatly under editor Sir David English. He may also be considered the founder of ''
The Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. It is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK and was launched in 1982 by Lord Rothermere. Its sister paper, the '' Daily Mail'', was first pu ...
''. After the death of his father in 1978, he also became chairman of parent company
Daily Mail and General Trust plc Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) is a British multinational media company, the owner of the ''Daily Mail'' and several other titles. The 4th Viscount Rothermere is the chairman and controlling shareholder of the company. The head office is ...
(DMGT). He attempted to combine the companies in a manner calculated to avoid taxation. An artefact of this plan was the ownership of Associated Newspapers being vested in Associated Newspapers Holdings (ANH), ownership of which was split 50.2%-49.8% between DMGT and its wholly owned subsidiary Daily Mail & General Holdings (DMGH). (Since that time DMGH's name has been transferred to ANH, and the old DMGH has become Derry Street Properties).. English succeeded him as chairman of Associated Newspapers (but not of ANH or of the parent companies) in 1992. When English died in mid-1998, Rothermere resumed the chairmanship of Associated Newspapers and replaced his protégé as president of the
Commonwealth Press Union The Commonwealth Press Union (CPU), formerly the Empire Press Union, was an association composed of 750 members in 49 countries, including newspaper groups (with several hundred newspapers), individual newspapers, and news agencies throughout the Co ...
, only to die himself some months later, still chairman of DMGT, after being fatally stricken with a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
while dining with his son (and successor)
Jonathan Harmsworth, 4th Viscount Rothermere Jonathan Harold Esmond Vere Harmsworth, 4th Viscount Rothermere (born 3 December 1967), is a British peer and inheritor of a newspaper and media empire founded by his great-grandfather Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere. He is t ...
. Harmsworth was a member of the Founding Council of the
Rothermere American Institute The Rothermere American Institute is a department of the University of Oxford dedicated to the interdisciplinary and comparative study of the United States of America and its place in the world. Named after the Harmsworth family, Viscounts Roth ...
, which he helped establish alongside his sister Lady Cromer and Vyvyan Harmsworth. Harmsworth's newspapers supported the Thatcher government, but following
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
's landslide general election victory he defected to the Labour Party.


Family life

On 21 March 1957 Rothermere married actress Patricia Brooks. They had three children: * Geraldine Theodora Gabriel Harmsworth (born 25 July 1957) * Camilla Patricia Caroline Harmsworth (born 28 July 1964) * Harold Jonathan Esmond Vere Harmsworth, 4th Viscount Rothermere (born 3 December 1967) Following the death of his first wife on 12 August 1992, Rothermere married his longtime girlfriend, Maiko Jeong Shun Lee, in 1993.


References


Further reading

*


External links

*
Lord Rothermere – BBC News


* ttp://rai.ox.ac.uk/about/history/foundingcouncil; Rothermere American Institute {{DEFAULTSORT:Rothermere, Vere Harmsworth, 3rd Viscount 1925 births 1998 deaths British newspaper publishers (people) Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers Vere People educated at Eton College Kent School alumni Labour Party (UK) hereditary peers 3