Dixon, Herbert (1880–1950), businessman, politician, and 1st Baron Glentoran , was born 23 January 1880 at Strand town, fourth son of Daniel Dixon (1844-1907), businessman, later high sheriff of Co. Down (1896), mayor (1892) and lord mayor (1893, 1901–3, 1905–7) of Belfast, knight (1892) and baronet (1903), and MP for Belfast North 1905–7, and his second wife, Annie (m. 1870), daughter of James Shaw of Belfast. Herbert was educated at Rugby and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He was then commissioned into the 6th Inniskilling Dragoons and as a captain served throughout the Boer war in South Africa, receiving the Queen's Medal with five clasps. While later serving in Egypt he contracted malaria and as a result was invalided out of the army, but returned in 1914 to the service, when he became involved in the reorganisation of the remounts in Ireland. During the first world war Dixon was twice mentioned in dispatches and in 1919 was appointed OBE. His involvement with the military finally ended with service from August 1940 to September 1944 in the Comber detachment of the Home Guard and as honorary colonel of the 3rd (Ulster) Anti-Aircraft Brigade, Royal Artillery Supplementary Reserve.
He first entered politics in 1918 as unionist MP for Pottinger at Westminster (1918–22); after the redistribution of constituency boundaries, he was MP for Belfast East from 1922 to 1939, when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Glentoran of Ballyalloly. On the establishment of the Northern Ireland parliament, Dixon was returned as MP for Belfast East (1921–9) and for Bloomfield (1929–50). As parliamentary secretary to the ministry of finance and chief whip (1921–42) he became an important figure within the unionist cabinet led by the prime minister, James Craig (qv). On 16 January 1941, in a cabinet reshuffle by John Miller Andrews (qv), who had become prime minister in November 1940 after the death of Craig, Glentoran became minister of agriculture. The government led by Andrews, however, was largely dominated by men who had served under Craig since 1921, and increasingly it was attacked by unionist backbench MPs on the grounds that its members were too old, incapable of providing vibrant leadership at a time of war, and clearly lacking the necessary vision to plan the rebuilding of Northern Ireland once the conflict was over. As the pressure grew on the prime minister, Glentoran was one of his staunchest allies, but his influence was not enough and after another period of turmoil within the Unionist party, Andrews resigned on 30 April 1943. His replacement, Sir Basil Brooke (qv), quickly replaced many of the older cabinet ministers; one of the casualties in the reshuffle of May 1943 was Glentoran, who never again held a government position. Although Brian Barton indicates that some considered Glentoran as a possible successor to Andrews, his age and health problems effectively ruled this out. From then on, as a backbench MP he sought to give his full support and loyalty to the new administration, and this largely continued up to his death in July 1950.
Glentoran was a member of the Orange Order, serving as a deputy grand master and master of Lodge 7, the Eldon Lodge Belfast. He was also a vice-president of the City of Belfast Loyal Orange Widows’ Fund, as well as a senior trustee of the Orange Hall, Albertbridge Road, Belfast. As a businessman he was chairman of the directors of the Commercial Insurance Co. of Ireland Ltd, a member of the boards of Thomas Dixon & Sons & Co. Ltd, timber merchants and ship owners, and the Dixon Estates Ltd, as well as the Ulster Marine Insurance Co. Ltd. Outside business and politics Glentoran's main interests were hunting and horse racing as a member of the Co. Down Staghounds, the North Down Harriers, the Beaufort Hunt in England, and the Irish Turf Club, and as a past steward of the Irish National Hunt Committee. Furthermore, the horses he owned had successes in races such as the Irish Thousand Guineas with Glenshesk in 1923, and Ulster Derby in 1949 with Owen Cuts.
He married (1905) the Hon. Emily Ena Florence Bingham, daughter of the 5th Baron Claremorris; they had one son and three daughters. After a period of ill health he attended the London Clinic for an operation but never recovered consciousness and died on Thursday 20 July 1950. His son, Lt-col. the Hon. Daniel Stewart Thomas Bingham Dixon (qv) (1912–95), succeeded him in the peerage as well as in the baronetcy that had passed to Lord Glentoran on the death (May 1950) of his half-brother, the Hon. Sir Thomas Dixon.