Alexander James Amherst Burnett of Leys (born 30 July 1973) is a Scottish Conservative politician who has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Aberdeenshire West constituency since 2016.
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Family and background
Alexander Burnett is the son of James Comyn Amherst Burnett of Leys, Chief of the Name and Arms of the House of Burnett, and Fiona Mercedes Phillips. His mother Fiona is the daughter of Harold Phillips and Georgina, Lady Kennard, and a sister of the Duchesses of Abercorn and Westminster. Burnett is a fourth-great-grandson of Nicholas I of Russia on his mother's side, and is thus a fourth cousin once removed of King Charles III. Through the same line, he also claims descent from the Russian noblemen Abram Petrovich Hannibal and Alexander Pushkin. He was educated at Eton College and Newcastle University, where he graduated with an LL.B.
Career
After graduating Burnett worked for a decade in Azerbaijan, before returning to Scotland where he started a number of businesses with his family, including property developer North Banchory Limited and its biomass renewable energy subsidiary Hill of Banchory ESCo Limited (HoBESCo). Burnett is also the owner of an estate in Aberdeenshire, and the beneficiary of two property-owning trusts, that have an estimated value of almost £20 million.