Arthur Francis Benjamin Guinness, 3rd Earl of Iveagh (20 May 1937 – 18 June 1992), styled Viscount Elveden between 1945 and 1967, was an Irish businessman and politician. He was chairman of Guinness plc from 1962 to 1986, and then its president from 1986 until his death in 1992.

Biography

Lord Iveagh (often popularly known as Benjamin Iveagh) was born into the

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

Guinness family The Guinness family is an extensive Irish family known for its achievements in brewing, banking, politics, and religious ministry. The brewing branch is particularly well known among the general public for producing the dry stout beer Guinnes ...

, being the son of Arthur Onslow Edward Guinness, Viscount Elveden, and Lady Elizabeth Cecilia Hare, daughter of Richard Hare, 4th Earl of Listowel. His father, Viscount Elveden, was a Major in the 55th (Suffolk and Norfolk Yeomanry) Anti-Tank Regiment of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

and was killed in action by a V-2 rocket while serving in

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on 8 February 1945. In 1947, his mother remarried Edward Rory More O'Ferrall, from another aristocratic Irish family. Lord Iveagh was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, and the

University of Grenoble The (, ''Grenoble Alps University'', abbr. UGA) is a Grands établissements, ''grand établissement'' in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 researchers. Es ...

. He inherited the title from his grandfather, The 2nd Earl of Iveagh, in September 1967. He lived at Farmleigh in the

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park () is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and was chairman of Guinness 1961–1992. He was a trustee of two charitable housing associations, the Iveagh Trust in Dublin and the Guinness Trust in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He was involved in horse breeding and also owned horses. The More O'Ferralls, his mother's husband's family were prominent in racing and breeding circles. He helped to finance the Kildangan Stud, a famous stud farm owned by his step-uncle, Roderic More O'Ferrall. Uniquely at the time, he was a member of two

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

s in two different countries simultaneously. He was in the British

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

from 1967 to 1992, and was appointed an Irish

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

by Liam Cosgrave from 1973 to 1977. Towards the end of his life, Guinness was an alcoholic. His

obituary An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...

in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', described his business career as "at best undistinguished and at times positively disastrous ... s reign s chairman of Guinnesswas marked first by a phase of unbridled diversification away from the core brewing business and then a prolonged period of debilitating decline."

Personal life and family

Lord Iveagh married Miranda Daphne Jane Smiley, daughter of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Michael Smiley, of Castle Fraser, Kemnay,

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

, on 12 March 1963. They had four children before their divorce in 1984: #Lady Emma Lavinia (born 7 December 1963), who lives at Parham House, Pulborough, and serves as Lord Lieutenant of West Sussex #Lady Louisa Jane (born 20 February 1967) # Edward Guinness, 4th Earl of Iveagh (born 25 August 1969) #Hon. Rory Michael Benjamin Guinness (born 12 December 1974) Lord Iveagh died of cancer in Kensington and Chelsea,

, in 1992 at the age of 55. His eldest son succeeded to the family titles.

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iveagh, Benjamin Guinness, 3rd Earl of 1937 births 1992 deaths 20th-century Anglo-Irish people Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 3 Benjamin Guinness, 3rd Earl of Iveagh Irish Anglicans Irish art collectors Guinness, Benjamin Members of the 13th Seanad People educated at Eton College Grenoble Alpes University alumni Nominated members of Seanad Éireann Fine Gael senators Deaths from throat cancer in England Irish racehorse owners and breeders