Governor of the Bank of England
Encyclopedia
The Governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England
. It is nominally a civil service
post, but the appointment tends to be from within the Bank, with the incumbent grooming his or her successor. The Governor of the Bank of England is also Chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee
, with a major role in guiding national economic and monetary policy, and is therefore one of the most important public officials in the United Kingdom
.
The current Governor is Mervyn King
, appointed in 2003.
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
. It is nominally a civil service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
post, but the appointment tends to be from within the Bank, with the incumbent grooming his or her successor. The Governor of the Bank of England is also Chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee
Monetary Policy Committee
The Monetary Policy Committee is a committee of the Bank of England, which meets for two and a half days every month to decide the official interest rate in the United Kingdom . It is also responsible for directing other aspects of the government's monetary policy framework, such as quantitative...
, with a major role in guiding national economic and monetary policy, and is therefore one of the most important public officials in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
The current Governor is Mervyn King
Mervyn King (economist)
An ex-officio member of the Bank's interest-rate setting Monetary Policy Committee since its inception in 1997, Sir Mervyn is the only person to have taken part in every one of its monthly meetings to date. His voting style is often seen as "hawkish", a perspective that emphasises the dangers of...
, appointed in 2003.
Governors of the Bank of England
- Sir John HoublonJohn HoublonSir John Houblon was the first Governor of the Bank of England from 1694 to 1697.-Biography:Sir John was the third son of James Houblon, a London merchant, and his wife, Mary Du Quesne, daughter of Jean Du Quesne, the younger...
(1694–1697) - Sir William Scawen (1697–1699)
- Nathaniel Tench (1699–1701)
- John Ward (1701–1703)
- Abraham Houblon (1703–1705)
- Sir James Bateman (1705–1707)
- Francis Eyles (1707–1709)
- Sir Gilbert Heathcote (1709–1711)
- Nathaniel Gould (1711–1713)
- John Rudge (1713–1715)
- Sir Peter DelmePeter DelméSir Peter Delmé was a notable English figure in commerce and banking in the early 18th century.Delmé was the third son of Pierre Delmé and Sibella Nightingale...
(1715–1717) - Sir Gerard Conyers (1717–1719)
- John Hanger (1719–1721)
- Sir Thomas Scawen (1721–1723)
- Sir Gilbert Heathcote (1723–1725)
- William Thompson (1725–1727)
- Humphry Morice (1727–1729)
- Samuel Holden (1729–1731)
- Sir Edward Bellamy (1731–1733)
- Horatio Townshend (1733–1735)
- Bryan Benson (1735–1737)
- Thomas Cooke (1737–1740)
- Delillers Carbonnel (1740–1741)
- Stamp Brooksbank (1741–1743)
- William FawkenerWilliam Fawkener (banker)William Fawkener was Governor of the Bank of England from 1743 to 1745. He was son of another William Fawkener , a leading member of the Levant Company, and brother of Sir Everard Fawkener, who was also a merchant dealing in silk, before becoming Ambassador to the Sublime Porte between 1737 and...
(1743–1745) - Charles Savage (1745–1747)
- Benjamin Longuet (1747–1749)
- William Hunt (1749–1752)
- Alexander Sheafe (1752–1754)
- Charles Palmer (1754–1756)
- Matthews Beachcroft (1756–1758)
- Merrick Burrell (1758–1760)
- Bartholomew Burton (1760–1762)
- Robert Marsh (1762–1764)
- John Weyland (1764–1766)
- Matthew Clarmont (1766–1769)
- William Cooper (1769–1771)
- Edward Payne (1771–1773)
- James Sperling (1773–1775)
- Samuel Beachcroft (1775–1777)
- Peter Gaussen (1777–1779)
- Daniel Booth (1779–1781)
- William Ewer (1781–1783)
- Richard NeaveSir Richard Neave, 1st BaronetSir Richard Neave, 1st Baronet was a British merchant and a Governor of the Bank of England.Neave was the son of James Neave and Susanna Trueman...
(1783–1785) - George Peters (1785–1787)
- Edward Darell (1787–1789)
- Mark Weyland (1789–1791)
- Samuel Bosanquet (1791–1793)
- Godfrey Thornton (1793–1795)
- Daniel Giles (1795–1797)
- Thomas RaikesThomas RaikesThomas Raikes was a British merchant particularly trading from London with Russia, a banker and newspaper proprietor...
(1797–1799) - Samuel Thornton (1799–1801)
- Job Mathew (1801–1802)
- Joseph Nutt (1802–1804)
- Benjamin Winthrop (1804–1806)
- Beeston LongBeeston LongBeeston Long , of Combe House, Surrey, was an English businessman.The son of Beeston Long, a West India Merchant and deputy Governor of the Royal Exchange Assurance Corporation, and brother of Samuel Long and Charles Long, 1st Baron Farnborough, Long married in 1786 Frances Louisa, eldest daughter...
(1806–1808) - John Whitmore (1808–1810)
- John Pearse (1810–1812)
- William Manning (1812–1814)
- William MellishWilliam MellishWilliam Mellish was an English Tory politician. He was Governor of the Bank of England from 1814 to 1816 and a Member of Parliament for Great Grimsby from 1796 to 1802 and from 1803 to 1806, then an MP for Middlesex from 1806 to 1820....
(1814–1816) - Jeremiah Harman (1816–1818)
- George Dorrien (1818–1820)
- Charles Pole (1820–1822)
- John Bowden (1822–1824)
- Cornelius Buller (1824–1826)
- John Baker Richards (1826–1828)
- Samuel Drewe (1828–1830)
- John Horsley PalmerJohn Horsley PalmerJohn Horsley Palmer was an English banker and Governor of the Bank of England.Palmer was the son of William Palmer of Wanlip, Leicestershire, and his wife Mary Horsley, daughter of John Horsley rector of Thorley, Hertfordshire, and sister of Dr. Samuel Horsley, bishop of St Asaph. His father was...
(1830–1833) - Richard Mee Raikes (1833–1834)
- James Pattison (1834–1837)
- Timothy Abraham Curtis (1837–1839)
- Sir John Rae Reid (1839–1841)
- Sir John Henry PellySir John Pelly, 1st BaronetSir John Henry Pelly, 1st Baronet, DL was an English businessman. During most of his career, he was an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company , serving as Governor of the HBC for three decades. He held other noteworthy offices, including Governor of the Bank of England...
(1841–1842) - William CottonWilliam Cotton (banker)William Cotton FRS was an English inventor, merchant, philanthropist, and Governor of the Bank of England from 1842 to 1845....
(1842–1845) - John Benjamin Heath (1845–1847)
- William Robinson Robinson (April 1847-August 1847)
- James Morris (1847–1849)
- Henry James Prescot (1849–1851)
- Thomson HankeyThomson HankeyThomson Hankey was a British merchant, a banker and a Liberal Party politician.Hankey was the son of Thomson Hankey from Portland Place in London, and his wife Martha, the daughter of Benjamin Harrison from Clapham Common...
(1851–1853) - John Gellibrand Hubbard (1853–1855)
- Thomas Matthias WeguelinThomas Matthias WeguelinThomas Matthias Weguelin was an English Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1857 and 1880....
(1855–1857) - Sheffield Neave (1857–1859)
- Bonamy Dobrée (1859–1861)
- Alfred Latham (1861–1863)
- Kirkman Daniel HodgsonKirkman Daniel HodgsonKirkman Daniel Hodgson, JP was an East India merchant and banker, later Governor of the Bank of England and a Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom....
(1863–1865) - Henry Lancelot Holland (1865–1867)
- Thomas Newman Hunt (1867–1869)
- Robert Wigram CrawfordRobert Wigram CrawfordRobert Wigram Crawford was a British East India merchant and Governor of the Bank of England and a Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1857 to 1874....
(1869–1871) - George Lyall (1871–1873)
- Benjamin Buck Greene (1873–1875)
- Henry Hucks GibbsHucks Gibbs, 1st Baron AldenhamHenry Hucks Gibbs, 1st Baron Aldenham MA BA FGS FSA was a British banker, businessman and Conservative Party politician.Aldenham the son of George Henry Gibbs,...
(1875–1877) - Edward Howley Palmer (1877–1879)
- John William Birch (1879–1881)
- Henry Riversdale GrenfellHenry Riversdale GrenfellHenry Riversdale Grenfell was a British banker and Liberal Party politician.His Cornish grandfather Pascoe Grenfell was a tin and copper manager and Member of Parliament , while his father, Charles Pascoe Grenfell, was a director of the Bank of England from 1830 to 1864...
(1881–1883) - John Saunders GilliatJohn Saunders GilliatJohn Saunders Gilliat was a British banker and Conservative politician.He was the son of John Kirton Gilliat and Mary Anne Saunders of Fernill, Berkshire. His father was founder J K Gilliat and Company, a merchant banking company that traded in England and America...
(1883–1885) - James Pattison Currie (1885–1887)
- Mark Wilks ColletMark Wilks ColletSir Mark Wilks Collet, 1st Baronet was an English merchant and banker. He served as Governor of the Bank of England between 1887 and 1889, and was made a baronet on 12 June 1888 in connection with his services in converting the National Debt...
(1887–1889) - William LidderdaleWilliam LidderdaleWilliam Lidderdale PC was a British merchant, and governor of the Bank of England between 1889 and 1892.Lidderdale was born to British parents at the British Chaplaincy in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and was educated at Birkenhead in Cheshire.After working for the Russian merchants Heath and Co, he...
(1889–1892) - David Powell (1892–1895)
- Albert George Sandeman (1895–1897)
- Hugh Colin Smith (1897–1899)
- Samuel Steuart Gladstone (1899–1901)
- Augustus Prevost (1901–1903)
- Samuel Hope Morley (1903–1905)
- Alexander Falconer Wallace (1905–1907)
- William Middleton Campbell (1907–1909)
- Reginald Eden Johnston (1909–1911)
- Alfred Clayton Cole (1911–1913)
- Sir Walter CunliffeWalter Cunliffe, 1st Baron CunliffeWalter Cunliffe, 1st Baron Cunliffe GBE was Governor of the Bank of England from 1913 to 1918, during the critical World War I era. He was created 1st Baron Cunliffe in 1914.-Early life and education:...
(1913–1918) (Lord Cunliffe from 1914) - Sir Brien Cokayne (1918–1920)
- Sir Montagu Collet NormanMontagu NormanMontagu Collet Norman, 1st Baron Norman DSO PC was an English banker, best known for his role as the Governor of the Bank of England from 1920 to 1944...
(1920–1944) - Thomas Sivewright Catto, 1st Baron Catto (1944–1949)
- Cameron Cobbold (March 1949-30 June 1961) (Lord Cobbold from 1960)
- George Rowland Stanley Baring, 3rd Earl of Cromer (1 July 1961–1966)
- Sir Leslie O'BrienLeslie Kenneth O'BrienLeslie Kenneth O'Brien, Baron O'Brien of Lothbury, GBE, PC, was Governor of the Bank of England.After attending Wandsworth School in London, he joined the Bank of England in 1927 and rose through the ranks, becoming Chief Cashier in 1955, Deputy Governor in 1966, before serving as Governor from...
(1966–1973) - Gordon RichardsonGordon Richardson, Baron Richardson of DuntisbourneGordon William Humphreys Richardson, Baron Richardson of Duntisbourne, KG, MBE, TD, PC, DL was a British banker, former lawyer, and former Governor of the Bank of England.-Biography:...
(1973–1983) - Robin Leigh-PembertonRobin Leigh-Pemberton, Baron KingsdownRobert "Robin" Leigh-Pemberton, Baron Kingsdown, is a crossbencher on the House of Lords, and was formerly a lawyer and banker....
(1983–1993) - Sir Edward GeorgeEdward George, Baron GeorgeEdward Alan John George, Baron George, GBE, PC, DL , known as Eddie George, or "Steady Eddie", was Governor of the Bank of England from 1993 to 2003 and sat on the board of Rothschild.-Personal life:...
(1993-30 June 2003) - Sir Mervyn KingMervyn King (economist)An ex-officio member of the Bank's interest-rate setting Monetary Policy Committee since its inception in 1997, Sir Mervyn is the only person to have taken part in every one of its monthly meetings to date. His voting style is often seen as "hawkish", a perspective that emphasises the dangers of...
(1 July 2003-)