The Lord George | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Edward George in 2000 | |
| Governor of the Bank of England | |
| In office 1 July 1993 – 30 June 2003 | |
| Appointed by | Kenneth Clarke |
| Preceded by | Robin Leigh-Pemberton |
| Succeeded by | Mervyn King |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1938-09-16)16 September 1938 Carshalton,England |
| Died | 18 April 2009(2009-04-18) (aged 70) St Tudy,Cornwall,England |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Emmanuel College, Cambridge |
| Profession | Economist |
Edward Alan John George, Baron George (16 September 1938 – 18 April 2009),[1] known asEddie George, or sometimes as "Steady Eddie", wasGovernor of the Bank of England from 1993 to 2003[1] and sat on the board ofNM Rothschild and Sons.
George was born and grew up inCarshalton, the son of Alan, aPost Office clerk, and his wife Olive. He attended the independentDulwich College on a scholarship. Having learned to speakRussian at Dulwich, he carried out hisNational Service at theJoint Services School for Linguists. He attended and graduated fromEmmanuel College, Cambridge.
George joined theBank of England in 1962. Apart from secondments toMoscow State University, theBank for International Settlements, and theInternational Monetary Fund, he remained there throughout his career.
After three years asDeputy Governor,[2] he was appointedGovernor of the Bank of England to succeedRobin Leigh-Pemberton, who retired on the completion of his second five-year term of office on 30 June 1993. During the early part of George's governance, his successful relationship with then-Chancellor of the ExchequerKenneth Clarke earned them the nickname 'the Ken and Eddie Show'.[3] Upon theLabour Party coming to power at the1997 general election, the Bank was given independence in setting UK interest rates byGordon Brown, the incoming Chancellor of the Exchequer.[4] George was succeeded as Governor of the Bank of England in July 2003 byMervyn King.
George attracted controversy in 1998 when he was widely reported to have made a statement to London newspaper executives implying that unemployment in the north of England was a price worth paying to preserve affluence in the south of the country. He later claimed that his remarks had been misconstrued.[5]
George served as a Governor of his former school,Dulwich College, between 1998 and 2008 and as the Chairman of the Governors between 2003 and 2008.[6][7]
On 18 April 2009, George, a heavy smoker, died oflung cancer.[4][8]
George married Vanessa George, Lady George (née Williams) in Surrey in 1962. They had three children. Lady George died in March 2017.[9]
George was appointed Knight Grand Cross of theOrder of the British Empire in the2000 Birthday Honours.[10] He was made alife peer in June 2004[1] asBaron George, ofSt Tudy in theCounty of Cornwall.[11][12] He was awarded anhonoraryD.Sc. by theUniversity of Buckingham on 4 March 2000, and appointed adeputy lieutenant ofCornwall in March 2006.
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| Preceded by | Governor of the Bank of England 1993–2003 | Succeeded by |
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