Victor Cavendish-Bentinck, 9th Duke of Portland

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Victor Frederick William Cavendish-Bentinck, 9th Duke of Portland (1897–1990), the younger brother of Ferdinand William Cavendish-Bentinck, 8th Duke of Portland, was a British Diplomat and held the post of Ambassador to Poland.

Victor succeeded to the title in 1980, on the death of his brother, the 8th Duke. He was educated at Wellington College but did not pursue a university education, instead entering the diplomatic service in 1919. His diplomatic career was distinguished. In 1922 he took charge of administrative arrangements for the Lausanne Conference. He served in the British Embassy in Paris and also in the League of Nations Department in the Foreign Office. Other postings included Athens in 1932 and Santiago in 1933.

The high point of the 9th Duke's diplomatic career came in 1939 when he was appointed chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee. He managed to develop the body as a highly effective instrument of government and as a result became counsellor to the Services Liaison Department of the Foreign Office in 1942.

In 1945 the duke was given his final diplomatic posting on his appointment as Ambassador to Poland. He held the position for two years before the Foreign Office applied to appoint him Ambassador to Brazil. Unfortunately, he never took up the latter post, being obliged to resign from the Foreign Office as a result of the publicity surrounding his divorce.

After his withdrawal from the diplomatic service, Victor embarked on a business career, becoming Vice-Chairman of the Committee of Industrial Interests in Germany. From this position he was able to advance the interests of British companies such as Unilever.

He was married 1924 and divorced 1948 to Clothilde (d 1984), with whom he had two children:

• William James, (1925 - 1966)
• Mary Jane, (b. 1929)

He married again in 1948 with Kathleen Elsie (d. 2004)

On his death the dukedom became extinct. However, the earldom of Portland was inherited by a cousin, Henry Noel Bentinck, as 11th Earl of Portland.

Preceded by Ferdinand Cavendish-Bentinck	Duke of Portland 1980–1990	Succeeded by Extinct
	Earl of Portland 1980–1990	Succeeded by Henry Bentinck

[edit] Sources

• http://www.angelfire.com/in/heinbruins/Bentinck.html "The Descendants of Willem Bentinck and Charlotte Aldenburg"