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| Victor Alexander George Robert Bulwer-Lytton Born in India, where his father was Viceroy, Lytton was the grandson of the famous novelist. He succeeded his father as 2nd Earl at the age of fifteen in 1891. He was educated at Eton and at Trinity College, Cambridge, gaining a second in history. He was appointed to his first government post in 1901 (he is a Conservative), and held a variety of posts in public bodies, largely concerned with the arts. He was an advocate of women's suffrage. In 1916 he joined the Admiralty, serving as Civil Lord until 1917, then as Additional Parliamentary Secretary from 1917 to 1918. From 1918 to 1919 he served as Commissioner for Propaganda in France, and then returned to the Admiralty as Civil Lord, being sworn of the Privy Council and serving until 1920. In 1920 Lytton moves to the India Office as Parliamentary Under-Secretary. In 1922 he is actually sent to India as Governor of Bengal, remaining in the post until 1927 and acting as Viceroy during Lord Reading's absence from 10th April to 9th August 1925. He is sympathetic to the Indian people, and wins their respect and affection, acquiring many Indian friends of all castes and classes. In 1927 and 1928 he is asked to lead the Indian delegation to the eighth and ninth Assemblies of the League of Nations. Lytton is an idealist, but practical and witty, and as a governor dignified and just. A typical aristocrat, although not a man of great wealth, he resides at the family seat of Knebworth, Hertfordshire. His sisters married A J Balfour and the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. He has been married to Pamela Chichele-Plowden since 1902, and they have two sons and two daughters. His heir is Antony, Viscount Knebworth. Lytton is appointed GCIE in 1922 and GCSI in 1925. He enjoys shooting, fishing, skating and skiing, and belongs to the Athenæum. |