Michael Ashcroft

Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC is an international businessman, philanthropist, author and pollster. He is the former Treasurer and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party in the UK, the current Honorary Chairman and former Treasurer of the International Democracy Union (IDU), and currently a Privy Council member. He was formerly the Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Veterans’ Transition. His life-long interest in bravery led to the creation of the largest collection of Victoria Crosses (VCs) in the world, which currently stands at more than 240 such decorations. The collection was on display for 15 years in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at Imperial War Museum London until the end of September 2025. In March 2026, it was announced that Lord Ashcroft’s VCs, along with his smaller collection of George Crosses (GCs), would go on display within the next two years at the National Army Museum in London. Lord Ashcroft has varied and substantial business interests around the world in public and private companies. He was Non-Executive Chairman of Impellam Group plc from 2014 to 2024, a Non-Executive Director of Merit Group plc from 2022 to 2024 and a Non-Executive Director of Marlowe plc from 2024 to 2025. His current business roles include being Chairman of Waterloo Investment Holdings Limited and Deputy Chairman of Rendeavour. In 2016, Lord Ashcroft was made Knight Grand Cross of the Most Sacred Order of the Holy Trinity (Ethiopia) and a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. In 2017, he was made a Senior Fellow of the International Strategic Studies Association, in 2021 was promoted to Grand Collar of the Most Sacred Order of the Holy Trinity (Ethiopia) and in 2022 was honoured with the hereditary title of Viscount Gondar by the Crown Council of Ethiopia. Lord Ashcroft has also been decorated for his extensive work in support of war-torn Ukraine: in 2025, he was awarded the Ukraine Above All medal and in 2026 he was awarded the Honorary Cross of Merit of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Lord Ashcroft carries out extensive polling, mainly linked to his interest in politics, and the quality of his work in this area is widely acclaimed.