Michael Hare | |
|---|---|
| Viscount Blakenham | |
| Tenure | 1982–2018 |
| Predecessor | John Hugh Hare |
| Successor | Caspar John Hare |
| Born | type |
| Born | 25 January 1938 |
| Died | 8 January 2018 (aged 79) |
| Occupation | Environmentalist |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Harold Pearson, 2nd Viscount Cowdray (grandfather) Stephen Breyer (brother-in-law) |
Michael John Hare, 2nd Viscount Blakenham (25 January 1938 – 8 January 2018), was a Britishhereditary peer andenvironmentalist.
Blankenham was the son ofConservative politician and government ministerJohn Hare, 1st Viscount Blakenham and Hon. Beryl Nancy Pearson, daughter ofHarold Pearson, 2nd Viscount Cowdray.[1]
After some time working for partly or wholly owned subsidiaries,[2] he joined the senior management ofPearson plc (founded by his mother's ancestors) in 1977, and was managing director from 1978 to 1983, chief executive from 1978 to 1993, and chairman from 1983 to 1997.[3][4][5] He also was Chief Executive (1983–93) and Chairman (1984–93) of theFinancial Times, then a Pearson subsidiary.
A lifelong environmentalist, Blakenham was chairman of theRoyal Botanical Gardens atKew Gardens as well as Council Chairman of theRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds between 1982 and 1986 and president of Suffolk Wildlife Trust from between 1983 and 1987. He continued to develop the Blakenham Woodland Garden, which was created by his father.[6] He also owned the island ofLittle Colonsay in theInner Hebrides.[7]
Blakenham lived inSuffolk and led the local political partySuffolk Together.[8] He represented the party as a member ofMid Suffolk District Council from 2007 to 2015[9] under the nameMichael Blakenham. During the2014 European Parliament election he endorsedRupert Read, lead candidate on theGreenlist in theEast of England constituency.[10]
Through his sister, Joanna Freda Hare, he was a brother-in-law ofStephen Breyer, who served as a Justice of theUnited States Supreme Court from 1994 to 2022.[11]
In January 1965 Blakenham married his 18-year-old first cousin, Marcia Persephone Hare[12](her father, his father's brother the Hon Alan Hare (1919–1995),[4] preceded him as head of theFinancial Times).Lord and Lady Blakenham had a son and two daughters:
He died in January 2018 at the age of 79.[17][18]
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Viscount Blakenham 1982–2018 | Succeeded by Caspar John Hare |