Edmund Leopold de Rothschild
Son of Lionel de Rothschild and brother of Leopold David de Rothschild (born 1927). Sir Evelyn and Jacob de Rothschild are his younger cousins. Served as an officer in the British Army in France, North Africa, and Italy 1939-1946. In late 1944 he rose to the rank of Major and commanded a Jewish Palestinian Unit (made up of mainly refugees of the Nazis) into Italy. The unit prominently showed the Magen David. Partner of N.M. Rothschild & Sons 1946-1960. Published the book 'Window on the World' in 1949. Friend of the Japanese Tsunao Okumura. Okumura was the president of Nomura Securities between 1948 and 1959 and was seen as the king of Japanese stockbroking in the 1950s. Senior Partner of N.M. Rothschild & Sons 1960-1970. Vice-chairman of the British Newfoundland Corp. 1963-1969. Vice-chairman of Churchill Falls (Labrador) Corp. 1966-1969. One of the Godfathers of Prince Bernhard's extramarital daughters, Alexia Grinda. Bernhard met the mother, the 18-year old Helene Grinda (of the noble Roussel family), in 1966, at a swimming pool of the Rothschild family. Identified as a member of the Pilgrims Society in 1969. Member of the Asia Committee of the Bank of New England Corporation 1970-1971. Chairman of the Bank of New England Corporation in 1971. Governor of the Technical University of Nova Scotia. Trustee of the Queen’s Nursing Institute. Received the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 1st Class (Japan), in 1973. Chairman of N.M. Rothschild & Son 1970-1975. Nurtured the gardens at Exbury. Attended the 1st World Wilderness Conference in 1977 and trustee of the International Wilderness Foundation, which sponsors these conferences. At the 4th Wilderness Conference in 1987, where Edmund was a key speaker about climate change, Maurice Strong introduced him as the "source" of this whole "Conservation Banking" movement. David Rockefeller was also present at that conference and advised George Hunt, a business advisor who recorded the event, not to distribute any rebukes of what was said or "he would regret it". President of the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women (AJEX). Presiding Officer representing AJEX at the annual Cenotaph Service of Remembrance. The Rothschild family has been intimately associated with the New West End Synagogue in London. Played himself in the 1998 movie 'In Our Own Hands', about the all-Jewish fighting force in World War II. Member of the President's Council of the Mountain Institute in 1999. One of many donors to the Children’s Blood Foundation, which was inaugurated in 2001. He has been made a Commander of the British Empire.