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 1912 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, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

. 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 b ...

'' (1950-1960), ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'' (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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

, (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 ...

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, Italy and Japan, they had already set up the European Advisory Commission and a proposed Far ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

after

World War II 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 ...

, 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; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

(OECD) 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 ...

. He became a fervent supporter of the Conservative Party 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 ...

, 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