Frederick Edward Neuflize "Eric" Ponsonby, 10th Earl of Bessborough (29 March 1913 – 5 December 1993), styled Viscount Duncannon from 1920 to 1956, was a British diplomat, businessman, playwright,

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician, and peer.

Early life

Ponsonby was the eldest and only surviving son of

Vere Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough Vere Brabazon Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough, (27 October 1880 – 10 March 1956), was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish businessman and politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the List of Governors General of Canada#Governors ...

, and his wife, the former Roberte Poupart de Neuflize, only daughter of Baron

Jean de Neuflize Jean Frédéric André Poupart, 4th Baron of Neuflize CVO (21 August 1850 – 20 September 1928) was a French banker and equestrian. He received recognition with his appointment as an officer of the Legion of Honour. Early life Neuflize was b ...

, a Parisian banker. His father was an

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 ...

businessman and politician who graduated with a law degree from

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

before entering politics as a member of the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

and then, in 1910, as a member of the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

, later serving as

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada () is the federal representative of the . The monarch of Canada is also sovereign and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and resides in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the Advice (constitutional la ...

. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

and

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 ...

Career

He was on the Staff of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

High Commission for Refugees from Germany between 1936 and 1939. In 1938, he attended the

Évian Conference The Évian Conference was convened 6–15 July 1938 at Évian-les-Bains, France, to address the problem of German and Austrian Jewish refugees wishing to flee persecution by Nazi Germany. It was the initiative of United States President Franklin ...

as secretary to the High Commissioner Sir Neill Malcolm. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he served in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and West and North Africa, achieving the rank of captain in the 98th (Surrey and Sussex Yeomanry) Field 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 ...

( TA Reserve). From 1944 to 1948 Bessborough was 2nd Secretary at the British Embassy in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and from 1948 to 1949 1st Secretary. He then worked for Robert Benson, Lonsdale & Co, Ltd, merchant bankers, between 1950 and 1956 and was a director of ATV Ltd between 1955 and 1963. Bessborough succeeded to his father's two earldoms in 1956 and took his seat on the Conservative benches in the

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 ...

. He served under

Sir Alec Douglas-Home Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel ( ; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), known as Lord Dunglass from 1918 to 1951 and the Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative ...

as Parliamentary Secretary for Science from 1963 to 1964 and as Joint Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science in 1964 and under

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 ...

as Minister of State at the Ministry of Technology in 1970. From 1973 to 1979 he was a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

. He also served as a Deputy Lieutenant of

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

in 1977 and was the author of

plays Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

and other works.Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, He was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1988.

Personal life

Memorial in Stansted Park In August 1948, his engagement to American heiress Mary Munn (1915–2013) was announced. The couple met in Paris where Lord Bessborough, then Viscount Duncannon, was attached to the British Embassy and his future wife was working for the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

. Mary was the daughter of Charles A. Munn Jr. and Mary Astor Paul (a granddaughter of Philadelphia banker

Anthony Drexel Anthony Joseph Drexel Sr. (September 13, 1826 – June 30, 1893) was an American banker who played a major role in the rise of modern global finance after the American Civil War. As the dominant partner of Drexel & Co. of Philadelphia, he found ...

). They married on 29 September 1948, and were the parents of one daughter, Lady Charlotte Mary Roberte Paul Ponsonby (b. 1949), an art gallery owner who married Yanni Petsopoulos in 1974, and the couple has one son, Eric. Lord Bessborough died in December 1993, aged 80, when the earldom of Bessborough created in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great B ...

for his father in 1937 became extinct. He was succeeded in the Irish earldom of Bessborough and the remaining family titles by his first cousin,

Arthur Ponsonby Arthur Augustus William Harry Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede (16 February 1871 – 23 March 1946), was a British politician, writer, and social activist. He was the son of Sir Henry Ponsonby, Private Secretary to Queen Victoria, an ...

Ancestry

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bessborough, Frederick Ponsonby, 10th Earl Of 1913 births 1993 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British Army personnel of World War II British Yeomanry officers Conservative Party (UK) MEPs Deputy lieutenants of Essex Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Frederick 10 MEPs for the United Kingdom 1973–1979 Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964 People educated at Eton College Frederick Ponsonby, 10th Earl of Bessborough Royal Artillery officers International members of the American Philosophical Society British book and manuscript collectors