| His Excellency Anthony Bailey |
|
|---|---|
| Born | 1970 London, United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Interfaith campaigner Public Relations consultant Fundraiser |
| Spouse | Her Serene Highness Princess Marie-Therese von Hohenberg, Mrs Anthony Bailey, |
| Children | Master Maximilian Bailey |
Anthony John James Bailey, OBE, GCSS, KCHS, is a millionaire campaigner engaged in furthering cultural, educational, commercial and inter-religious relations between Europe and the Arab world. He is also known as a well connected international public relations consultant[1] and fundraiser.[2]
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Bailey was born in London in 1970 to an Irish mother and British father. In 1991 he graduated from the University College London in Contemporary East European Studies. He later studied at Corvinus University of Budapest in Hungary, and at Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski and St Cyril and St Methodius University of Veliko Turnovo in Bulgaria.
The Times of London of October 2007 announced Bailey’s marriage to HSH Princess Marie-Therese von Hohenberg, a great-granddaughter of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria[3] and a member of the Austrian Ducal House of Hohenberg. Among the couple's witnesses at the three day wedding celebration held in Salzburg were HRH Prince Konstantin-Assen of Bulgaria, Lord Nicholas Windsor, HRH Duchess Fleur of Württemberg and Baroness Scotland of Asthal.[4]
The Irish Times on 17 March 2010 announced the birth of their first child, Maximilian Albert Christian George Bailey on 3 March 2010.[5]
Bailey is an inter-faith campaigner and is actively engaged in several faith based charities. Among them include the Three Faiths Forum, the Forthspring Inter-Community Group in Belfast, the Catholic Union of Great Britain and the Association of Papal Orders in Britain. In 2009 Bailey was appointed Grand Magistral Delegate for Inter-Religious Relations and Delegate for Great Britain and Ireland of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St George and the Royal Order of Francis I. He is also Vice President of the Association of Papal Orders in Ireland. He has organised several high profile interfaith conferences in Europe and the Middle East.
Bailey was appointed in 1999 as Executive Chairman of Painting & Patronage[6] by HRH Prince Khalid Al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia - currently Governor of Makkah Region. Painting & Patronage is a prominent cultural, artistic and educational project between Saudi Arabia and Europe and Bailey has organised high profile exchanges in the United Kingdom, Portugal and Montenegro. He is a counsellor to the King Faisal Foundation and a director of the Saudi-British Society.[7] Bailey holds positions with several other organisations and charities aimed at promoting European-Arab relations including the Moroccan-British Society, Anglo-Arab Organisation and The Bahrain Society.
Bailey is the Chief Policy Adviser of the Foreign Policy Centre.[8]
Bailey since 2002 has been an adviser on education to the Department for Education.[6] He also hold directorships with several leading educational trusts and charities including the United Learning Trust which runs the largest group of Academy schools in Britain, the Archdiocese of Westminster and St Mary's University College in Twickenham.[9]
Bailey is credited with raising over £8 million to fund the Academy schools programme.[10]
Bailey is a public relations consultant and reported in the British media as a 'born networker'. He is currently chairman of Eligo International having previously been employed by Burson-Marsteller and IBM. Bailey is reported to specialise in clients which include foreign governments and statesmen.These have included over thirty foreign governments and diplomatic missions across Europe and the Middle East and included public figures such as Prince Khalid Al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia, King Simeon II of Bulgaria, Prime Minister Efraín Goldenberg of Peru, Prince Michael of Kent, Cardinal Mario Francesco Pompedda, Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro, President Fidel Ramos of The Philippines, King Constantine II of Greece, Prime Minister Son Sann of Cambodia, President Chandrika Kumaratunga of Sri Lanka and President Filip Vujanović of Montenegro.
Bailey appeared as a new entrant (position 68) in the British edition of GQ magazine's 100 Most Powerful List published in March 2009.[11]
Bailey was until 1997 a pro-EU supporter of the British Conservative Party. Since that time Bailey has become a longstanding supporter, fundraiser and donor to New Labour. In 2004 he had a previously attempted donation controversially rejected by the then party fundraiser and Middle East envoy Lord Levy.[12] It was later reported that Levy felt sidelined by Bailey's growing high level Middle Eastern contacts and fundraising capabilities. Prime Minister Tony Blair and other senior party officials publicly apologised to Bailey soon after the incident and the Labour Party have regularly welcomed donations made by him and raised by him.[13] In 2006 the Electoral Commission reported that Bailey had donated £50,600 to Labour.
In 2007 it was further reported that Bailey was responsible for securing Labour a £1 million donation from Mahmoud Khayami - one of the largest ever donations received by Labour.[14] In August 2010 Bailey made a donation of £50,000 to the David Miliband Leadership campaign.[15]
Anthony Bailey has also been decorated in several countries in recognition of his professional and charitable work.[16] They include: