Vere Brabazon Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough, GCMG, KStJ, PC (27 October 1880 – 10 March 1956), was an Anglo-Irish businessman and politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the fourteenth since Canadian Confederation.

In 1931 he was appointed as Governor-General by King George V, on the recommendation of British prime minister Ramsay MacDonald, to replace The Earl of Willingdon as viceroy.

Lord Bessborough is remembered for promoting new communication technologies as well as giving support to Canadians during the Great Depression.

Ponsonby attended Harrow School before going up to Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1898, graduating three years later with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

He remained at that post until running in the January 1910 general election and winning a seat in the British House of Commons as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cheltenham.

On 11 November 1914, he transferred to the Suffolk Hussars (both units were part of the Territorial Force and were sent into action overseas), where he was later appointed captain and promoted to acting major.

The Earl had a successful business career, holding directorships in several large commercial firms, including acting as head of both the São Paulo Railway and the Margarine Union, as well as deputy chairman of De Beers Consolidated Mines.

[7] It was announced in early 1931 that King George V had, by commission under the royal sign-manual and signet, appointed Lord Bessborough as his representative.

After being admitted into the Privy Council of the United Kingdom on 20 March 1931,[8] Lord Bessborough travelled to Canada and was sworn in as Governor General on 4 April, amid the Great Depression.

In Shawbridge, Quebec, he stated in a speech: "There is nothing more encouraging and cheering than the calm steady way Canadians have pursued their daily tasks during the difficult period with a supreme faith in the destiny of their country".

During the Second World War, Bessborough helped establish a department in the British Foreign Office dedicated to the welfare of French refugees in the United Kingdom.