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Robin Marcus Birley (born 19 February 1958) is an English businessman and political activist. He is the son of Lady Annabel Goldsmith and nightclub owner Mark Birley. He had a brother, Rupert (disappeared and presumed deceased) and has a sister, India Jane Birley, from whom he is estranged. == Career == Birley is involved in United Kingdom business, public relations and politics. Until 2004 he was chairman of the Democracy Movement, a crossparty pressure group once financed by Paul Sykes that succeeded the efforts of the now defunct Referendum Party. The Democracy Movement actively campaigns against a European Union constitution and a single European currency.〔(Zoominfo )〕 A staunchly conservative Eurosceptic, Birley stood as a candidate for the Referendum Party, founded by his stepfather Sir James Goldsmith with the aim of creating a referendum on UK membership in the European Union. In 1998, Birley began his work with Chilean Supporters Abroad. During a break in the trial of Chile's former president Augusto Pinochet, Birley welcomed him to England and helped to finance a sumptuous residence for him in Wentworth, Surrey, as well as a pro-Pinochet pamphlet. Birley stated: "It's also an abuse of hospitality to ambush an old man when he has come to this country year after year. He has done an immense amount for Chile. No one is supporting him and I have sympathy for the underdog.".〔(Remember-Chile.org )〕 Pinochet was the leader of a military junta which overthrew the democratically elected government of Chile in 1973. In the early 1990s, Birley was president of the Mozambique Institute, which supported Renamo, a conservative political party sponsored by the white minority government in Rhodesia and later by the apartheid regime in South Africa. Birley once told George Monbiot, that he believed he "had not just a right but a duty to give help to Renamo." In 2005, Birley financed David Davis' bid to become the leader of the United Kingdom's Conservative Party. Birley described Davis as "the most conservative of the candidates".〔(Times Online )〕 Although the position ultimately went to David Cameron, Birley's half-brother Zac Goldsmith was given a high-profile role as the party leader's advisor on environmental issues. When his father needed to use a wheelchair full-time, Birley and his sister took over the operation of his nightclub empire.〔(TMCnet )〕 Birley is best known for revamping Annabel's, the London night club founded by his father and named for his mother. He also runs a members' club at 5 Hertford Street, Mayfair.〔Tatler http://www.tatler.com/the-tatler-list/b/robin-birley〕 However, in late 2006, Birley was dismissed by his father and his sister on the grounds of alleged misconduct for having engaged a private investigator to do a background check on the boyfriend of his 45-year-old sister India Jane. Birley paid £200,000 for what turned out to be false information.〔("Mark Birley dies, but the feud lives on" ), ''The Independent'', 26 August 2007〕 For this reason he and his sister, India Jane, are estranged. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Robin Birley (businessman)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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