Demetri Marchessini
| Demetri P. Marchessini | |
|---|---|
| Born |
20 July 1934 Athens, Greece |
| Residence | London |
| Nationality | Greek/British |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation |
|
| Known for | Funding UKIP |
| Spouse(s) | Lucinda |
| Children |
Lucinda Cassandra Atalanta Tatiana |
| Website |
www |
Demetri P. Marchessini (born 20 July 1934 in Athens, Greece) is a Greek[1] businessman. He is among the largest donors to the UK Independence Party and gave £15,000 to the party during 2013.[2]
Personal life
He was educated at Williams College, Massachusetts, and at Harvard Law School, Harvard. He married Lucinda in 1961. They lived first in New York, and then in London with their four daughters, Lucinda, Cassandra, Atalanta and Tatiana.
Political views
Marchessini has published polemical works. Modern Myths: And The Realities Behind Them (1997)[3] arguing against certain political correct opinions. Women In Trousers [4] was a photo-essay on women's fashion which aroused much controversy when it was published, and received critical coverage in several newspapers.[5][6] Liz Hoggard in The Observer describing it as "offensive, outdated, misogynistic claptrap."[7] He wrote: "Women know that men don't like trousers, yet they deliberately wear them".[8] According to him: "This is hostile behaviour - they are deliberately dressing in a way that is opposite to what men would like. It is behaviour that flies against common sense, and also flies against the normal human desire to please."[9]
A later book, Scams & Hypocrisies[10] looked at perceived popular myths. On his blog, Marchessini has written that unmarried mothers are "naughty girls" who deserve a "smack" and that date rape accusations can only be meaningless because without a "violent act it is difficult to know whether any rape took place".[11]
On 28 January 2014, The Daily Telegraph published an advertisement by Marchessini, in effect a comment piece which took the form of an 'open letter to Libby Purves'. in which he criticised the 'pro-gay' opinions of The Times columnist and dismissed her opposition to the government policies of Russia's Vladimir Putin on this issue which she had expressed in an article on 20 January.[12] Responding, Purves was quoted in the London Evening Standard: "He is free to approve of the beatings and hangings of young men across the world in the name of what he considers religion. In the same spirit, I am free to say he is a loony."[13]
In 2013, Marchessini made donations totalling £10,000 money to the UK Independence Party,[8] ultimately the sixth largest donor to the party that year.[2] Following criticism of his views in 2013, he stated he will no longer give money to UKIP: "There's been such a fuss about what I've given it's a bore."[8] At the time of the Telegraph advertisement, a UKIP spokeswoman said that Marchessini had severed his connection with the party after the organisation had "publicly opposed the crazy female trouser-wearing comments."[14]
Channel 4 News interview
In the run-up to the 2014 European Parliament election, Michael Crick of Channel 4 News interviewed Marchessini, in what Crick believed was the businessman's first ever television interview.[15] Contrary to earlier reports, UKIP had continued to solicit donations from him, and a further donation of £5,000 (in addition to the previously admitted £10,000) had been made on 24 December 2013.[2]
In the interview, Marchessini also asserted that homosexuals are motivated by lust rather than love, said that rape was impossible within a marriage, and reasserted his opinions about women wearing trousers. According to him, only skirts excite men and he advocates a ban on the practice of women wearing trousers:[2][16]
because that is the only way the world is going to continue. Because if they don't men are going to stop fucking them. Do you understand, and may I tell you with great respect, that the incidents of love making in Western Europe have fallen drastically?
Bibliography
- —— (1997). Modern myths & the realities behind them. Quiller Press. ISBN 9781899163304.
- —— (2003). Women In Trousers: A Rear View. Ionian Illustrated Editions. ISBN 9780954510701. (photographs by Adrian Mott)
- —— (2010). Scams & Hypocrisy: The Cancer of Our Age. Askelon Publishing. ISBN 9780956462206.
References
- ↑ Marchessini, Demetri. "Demetri Marchessini Blog". Retrieved 17 May 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 "The Ukip donor who says gay people are incapable of love", Channel 4 News, 30 April 2014, accessed 30 April 2014.
- ↑ Marchessini, Demetri (1997). Modern Myths. London: Quiller Press. ISBN 1899163301.
- ↑ Marchessini, Demetri (2003). Women In Trousers. London: Ionian Illustrated Press. ISBN 0954510704.
- ↑ Goldwin, Clare (28 July 2003). "The man who hates women in trousers". The Mirror. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
- ↑ "Does HIS bum look bug in this". The Western Mail. August 2003. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
- ↑ Hoggard, Liz (27 July 2003). "Girls, if you want to get a man, drop your trousers". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
- 1 2 3 Hawkins, Ross (22 May 2013). "UKIP donor Demetri Marchessini quits after controversy over views on women". BBC News. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ↑ Nicholas Watt "Ukip donor brands women 'hostile' for wearing trousers", theguardian.com, 17 May 2013
- ↑ Marchessini, D P (2010). Scams & Hypocrisies. London: Askelon Publishing. ISBN 9780956462206.
- ↑ Rowena Mason, and Steven Swinford "Ukip donor says women in trousers are 'hostile' and unmarried mothers need a 'smack'", telegraph.co.uk, 17 May 2013
- ↑ Roy Greenslade "Daily Telegraph publishes advert attacking 'pro-gay' Times columnist Libby Purves", (Greenslade blog), theguardian.com, 28 January 2014
- ↑ "Pro-gay Libby Purves gets a ticking off from Ukip", London Evening Standard, 28 January 2014
- ↑ Rowena Mason and Esther Addley "Ukip donor pays for Telegraph advert to claim 'sodomy has always been a crime'", The Guardian, 28 January 2014
- ↑ Channel 4 News, 30 April 2014. This is also stated in the accompanying article.
- ↑ Scott Roberts (30 April 2014). "UKIP donor: Gay people are incapable of love and wives cannot be raped by their husbands". Pink News. Retrieved 30 December 2014. Swear word censored in the source and bleeped out in the television report.
