Richard Lambert | |
|---|---|
 Lambert at theFT economists' Christmas drinks reception, 2015 | |
| Born | (1944-09-23)23 September 1944 (age 80) Buckinghamshire, England |
| Education | Fettes College |
| Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford |
| Title | Former director-general of theCBI Former chancellor of theUniversity of Warwick Former editor of theFinancial Times Former chairman of theBritish Museum |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Sir Richard Peter Lambert (born 23 September 1944) is a British journalist and business executive. He served as director-general of theCBI,chancellor of theUniversity of Warwick, editor of theFinancial Times newspaper and chairman of the board of theBritish Museum.
Lambert was born in northBuckinghamshire and grew up inManchester, first attending a localgrammar school, before, at the age of 13, going toFettes College, anindependent school for boys inEdinburgh,[1] followed byBalliol College at theUniversity of Oxford,[2] where he studiedhistory.
He joined theFinancial Times in 1966, editing theLex Column in the paper in the 1970s.He became financial editor in 1979. From 1982 to 1983, he was the paper's New York correspondent. He was editor of theFT from 1991 to 2001.[2] From 1997 to 1998, he returned in New York and remained editor, where he set up a US version of the paper to challenge theWall Street Journal.
From June 2003 to March 2006, he was one of the nine members of theMonetary Policy Committee of theBank of England, which sets theinterest rate for theBritish pound.[2]
He became director-general of theConfederation of British Industry on 1 July 2006.[2] He wrote Government reports onBBC News 24[2] and chaired theLambert Review on the relationship between higher education and business.[3]
He was replaced byJohn Cridland as head of the CBI on 1 February 2011.
He was awarded an honorary doctorate from theUniversity of York in 2007.[4] He has other honorary degrees fromCity University, theUniversity of Warwick,Brighton University and theUniversity of Exeter.
He was appointed chancellor of the University of Warwick on 19 March 2008. He formally took up the position on 1 August 2008,[5] and was officially installed on 10 December of the same year. After eight years as chancellor, Lambert concluded his term at the end of the 2015–16 academic year and was succeeded byCatherine Ashton.[6]
He wasknighted in the2011 New Year Honours for service to business.[7]
Lambert took up the controversial role of chair of the board of the British Museum in 2014, a role described in an article published in his former newspaper theFinancial Times as "a ceremonial role that mostly involves raising money and refusing to give the Greeks back the Elgin Marbles".[8]
The position of theBritish Museum is that theElgin Marbles are owned by theMuseum trustees.[9] This position is disputed both by theGreek government and within Britain, where polls indicate that a majority of the British public support the repatriation of the Marbles toAthens.[10][11] Lambert complained of not having received sufficient advanced notice from Egyptian novelistAhdaf Soueif, who resigned from the board of trustees, citing its connection with "corporate sponsorship" and its failure to repatriate artifacts such as the Elgin Marbles.[12][13]
In response to the controversy surrounding the ownership of the Elgin Marbles, including instances of the marbles being accidentally damaged by schoolboys and by unsuccessfulwhitening attempts, Lambert wrote an article inThe Guardian claiming that the marbles should remain in the Museum.[14][15][16][17] This came about after the controversy intensified in Britain, in part thanks to BritishLabour Party politicianJeremy Corbyn, who suggested that he would approve of repatriating the Marbles to Greece.[18] Polls conducted by theBritish government indicate the majority of the British public support the repatriation of the Marbles to Greece.[19]
Lambert stood down from his role at the British Museum in October 2021 and was replaced byGeorge Osborne.[20]
He married Harriet Murray-Browne in 1973 and has two children.
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Editor ofThe Financial Times 1991–2001 | Succeeded by |
| Business positions | ||
| Preceded by | Director of theConfederation of British Industry 2006–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman of theBritish Museum 2014–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chancellor of the University of Warwick 2008–2016 | Succeeded by |
