Robin Dixon, 3rd Baron Glentoran
Encyclopedia
Major Thomas "Robin" Valerian Dixon, 3rd Baron Glentoran CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 (born 21 April 1935) is a former British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 bobsledder
Bobsleigh
Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of two or four make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sled that are combined to calculate the final score....

 and Northern Irish
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 politician, known as Robin Dixon. He is a former Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 Shadow Minister for the Olympics.

Early life

Dixon was educated at Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

 and Grenoble in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. After university, he served with the Grenadier Guards
Grenadier Guards
The Grenadier Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. It is not, however, the most senior regiment of the Army, this position being attributed to the Life Guards...

 from 1954 to 1966 including service in the Cyprus Emergency

Sports career

In 1964 Dixon was granted leave from the army to participate in the 1964 Winter Olympics
1964 Winter Olympics
The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964...

 at Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...

 and it was here that he won the gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

 with fellow bobsledder, Tony Nash
Anthony Nash (bobsleigh)
Anthony "Tony" Nash is a British bobsledder who competed in the 1960s. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won the gold in the two-man event at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck....

 and was awarded a MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 a year later. Nash and Dixon also won three medals in the two-man event at the FIBT World Championships
FIBT World Championships
The FIBT World Championships, part of the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing , have taken place on an annual basis in non-Winter Olympic years since 1930. A two-man event was included in 1931 with a combined championship occurring in 1947...

 with one gold (1965
FIBT World Championships 1965
The FIBT World Championships 1965 took place in St. Moritz, Switzerland for the record tenth time. The Swiss city had hosted the event previously in 1931 , 1935 , 1937 , 1938 , 1939 , 1947, 1955, 1957, and 1959....

) and two bronzes (1963
FIBT World Championships 1963
The FIBT World Championships 1963 took place in Igls, Austria for the second time after hosting the event previously in 1935 . This event would serve as the test for the Winter Olympics that would take place the following year in neighboring Innsbruck....

, 1966
FIBT World Championships 1966
The FIBT World Championships 1966 took place in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy for the sixth time, having hosted the event previously in 1937 , 1939 , 1950, 1954, and 1960. The Four-man event was cancelled following the death of West Germany's Toni Pensperger during competition...

).

Dixon retained his sporting links throughout his life: he was President of the Jury at the 1976 Winter Olympics
1976 Winter Olympics
The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated February 4–15, 1976 in Innsbruck, Austria...

, set up the Ulster Games Foundation in 1983, ans was appointed Chairman of the Northern Ireland Tall Ships Council in 1987. He has been President of the British Bobsleigh Association since 1987.

Business

Dixon retired from the army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 in 1966 with the rank of Major and went on to work for Kodak in their public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....

 department and in 1971 joined the Northern Irish business, Redland Tile and Brick Ltd, which he built up into a multi-million pound subsidiary of Redland plc
Redland plc
Redland plc was a leading British building materials business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...

 and became Managing Director. In 1983, he was appointed High Sheriff of Antrim
High Sheriff of Antrim
The High Sheriff of Antrim is the Sovereign's judicial representative in County Antrim. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the High Sheriff became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford in 1258...

.

Upon the death of his father, the 2nd Baron Glentoran
Daniel Dixon, 2nd Baron Glentoran
Daniel Stewart Thomas Bingham Dixon, 2nd Baron Glentoran KBE was a Northern Ireland soldier and politician....

, Dixon inherited his title and retired from business in 1998.

Political career

Dixon was Chairman of Positively Belfast from 1992 to 1996, Chairman of the "Growing a Green Economy" Committee from 1993 to 1995 and has been Shadow Minister for Northern Ireland
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, informally the Northern Ireland Secretary, is the principal secretary of state in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State is a Minister of the Crown who is accountable to the Parliament of...

, Shadow Minister for Sport
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport is a United Kingdom cabinet position with responsibility for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The role was created in 1992 by John Major as Secretary of State for National Heritage...

 and Shadow Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is a UK cabinet-level position in charge of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the successor to the positions of Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport...

. He is also a member of the British-Irish Parliamentary Body.

Lord Glentoran is a representative peer
Representative peer
In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords...

, one of 92 hereditary peers that remain in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

 after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999
House of Lords Act 1999
The House of Lords Act 1999 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. The Act reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats;...

, and sits on the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 benches.

Personal life

Lord Glentoran has three sons from his first wife, Rona (divorced in 1975) and lives with his third wife, Margaret, in their family home, Drumadarragh House near Ballyclare
Ballyclare
Ballyclare is a small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,770 people in the 2001 Census...

. He also has three sons and five grandchildren: two girls and 3 boys. They are all descendants of his first wife, Rona. His eldest son, Daniel, has two sons; his second, Andrew, a son and a daughter, and his youngest, Patrick, has one daughter.

Honours

Dixon and his driver, Tony Nash, were inducted into the British Bobsleigh Hall of Fame as a result of their success. A curve at the St. Moritz-Celerina Olympic Bobrun
St. Moritz-Celerina Olympic Bobrun
The St. Moritz-Celerina Olympic Bobrun is a bobsleigh piste located in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Constructed in 1903, it officially opened on New Year's Day 1904 and is the oldest bobsleigh track in the world and the only one that is naturally refrigerated...

is named for both Nash and Dixon. He was awarded a CBE in 1993 for services to Northern Ireland and Industry.

External links

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