The Lord Black of Crossharbour | |
|---|---|
 Black in 2013 | |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office 30 October 2001 – 9 July 2024 Life peerage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Conrad Moffat Black 25 August 1944 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Nationality |
|
| Political party | Non-affiliated (2007–2024) |
| Other political affiliations | Conservative (2001–2007) |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent |
|
| Residence(s) | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Former newspaper publisher, financier, historian, commentator, columnist |
Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour (born 25 August 1944), is a Canadian-British politician, newspaper publisher, businessman, and writer.
Black's father was businessman George Montegu Black II, who had significant holdings in Canadian manufacturing, retail and media businesses through part-ownership of the holding company Ravelston Corporation. In 1978, two years after their father's death, Conrad and his older brother Montegu took majority control of Ravelston. Over the next seven years, Conrad Black sold off most of their non-media holdings to focus on newspaper publishing. He controlled Hollinger International, once the world's third-largest English-language newspaper empire,[1] which published The Daily Telegraph (UK), Chicago Sun-Times (US), The Jerusalem Post (Israel), National Post (Canada), and hundreds of community newspapers in North America, before controversy erupted over the sale of some of the company's assets.
Black was granted a life peerage in 2001 and gave up his Canadian citizenship to accept the title in light of the Nickle Resolution, which bans British honours for Canadian citizens. He regained his Canadian citizenship in 2023.[2]
In 2007, Black was convicted on four counts of fraud in a United States district court in Chicago. While two of the criminal fraud charges were overturned on appeal, a conviction for felony fraud and obstruction of justice was upheld in 2010 and he was re-sentenced to 42 months in prison and a fine of $125,000. In 2019, President Donald Trump granted him a federal pardon.[3][4]
Black is a longtime columnist and author, and has written a column for the National Post since he founded it in 1998. He has written eleven books, mostly in the fields of Canadian and American history, including biographies of Quebec premier Maurice Duplessis and US presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Richard Nixon and Donald Trump, as well as two memoirs. He has also hosted two interview shows on the Canadian cable network VisionTV. A political conservative, he belonged to the UK's Conservative Party, but also has some idiosyncratic views, including his support for Roosevelt's New Deal.
- ^ Financial Post: "Conrad Black moves to end Hollinger CCAA"
- ^ "Conrad Black regains Canadian citizenship given up in House of Lords spat with Jean Chrétien". National Post. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
- ^ Itkowitz, Colby (15 May 2019). "Trump pardons billionaire friend Conrad Black, who wrote a book about him". The Washington Post.
- ^ Greene, Morgan (16 May 2019). "Trump signs full pardon for former media mogul Conrad Black, who wrote flattering bio of president". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 13 October 2020.