Edward Alan John George, Baron George,
GBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions...
,
PCHer Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. Its members are largely senior politicians, who were or are members of either the House of Commons or House of Lords of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.The Privy Council, the...
,
DLIn the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord-Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
(16 September 1938 – 18 April 2009), known as
Eddie George, or "Steady Eddie", was
GovernorThe 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...
of the
Bank of EnglandThe Bank of England is, despite its name, the central bank of the whole of the United Kingdom and is the model on which most modern, large central banks have been based. It was established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and to this day it still acts as the banker for the UK...
from 1993 to 2003.
George was born and grew up in
CarshaltonCarshalton is a suburban area of the London Borough of Sutton, England. It is located 10 miles south-southwest of Charing Cross, situated in the valley of the River Wandle, one of the sources of which is Carshalton Ponds in the centre of the village. The combined population of the five wards...
, the son of Post Office clerk Alan and wife Olive. He attended the independent school
Dulwich CollegeDulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, south-east London, United Kingdom. The College was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1600...
on a scholarship. He carried out his
National ServiceNational service is a common name for mandatory or voluntary government service programs . National service was common in the 20th century, and many young people spent one or more years in such programs...
at the
Joint Services School for LinguistsThe Joint Services School for Linguists was founded in 1951 by the British armed services to provide language training, principally in Russian, and largely to selected conscripts undergoing National Service...
, where he learnt to speak
RussianRussian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe...
.
Having graduated from
Emmanuel CollegeEmmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
,
CambridgeThe University of Cambridge , located in the City of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, is the second oldest university in the English-speaking world and the fourth oldest in Europe...
, he joined the Bank of England in 1962.
Edward Alan John George, Baron George,
GBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions...
,
PCHer Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. Its members are largely senior politicians, who were or are members of either the House of Commons or House of Lords of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.The Privy Council, the...
,
DLIn the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord-Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
(16 September 1938 – 18 April 2009), known as
Eddie George, or "Steady Eddie", was
GovernorThe 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...
of the
Bank of EnglandThe Bank of England is, despite its name, the central bank of the whole of the United Kingdom and is the model on which most modern, large central banks have been based. It was established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and to this day it still acts as the banker for the UK...
from 1993 to 2003.
Personal life
George was born and grew up in
CarshaltonCarshalton is a suburban area of the London Borough of Sutton, England. It is located 10 miles south-southwest of Charing Cross, situated in the valley of the River Wandle, one of the sources of which is Carshalton Ponds in the centre of the village. The combined population of the five wards...
, the son of Post Office clerk Alan and wife Olive. He attended the independent school
Dulwich CollegeDulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, south-east London, United Kingdom. The College was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1600...
on a scholarship. He carried out his
National ServiceNational service is a common name for mandatory or voluntary government service programs . National service was common in the 20th century, and many young people spent one or more years in such programs...
at the
Joint Services School for LinguistsThe Joint Services School for Linguists was founded in 1951 by the British armed services to provide language training, principally in Russian, and largely to selected conscripts undergoing National Service...
, where he learnt to speak
RussianRussian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe...
.
Having graduated from
Emmanuel CollegeEmmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
,
CambridgeThe University of Cambridge , located in the City of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, is the second oldest university in the English-speaking world and the fourth oldest in Europe...
, he joined the Bank of England in 1962. Apart from secondments to
Moscow State UniversityM. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University , for a time the Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be the oldest university in Russia and the tallest educational building in the world...
, the
Bank for International SettlementsThe Bank for International Settlements is an international organization of central banks which "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks." It is not accountable to any national government...
and the
International Monetary FundThe International Monetary Fund is an international organization that oversees the global financial system by following the macroeconomic policies of its member countries, in particular those with an impact on exchange rates and the balance of payments...
, he remained there throughout his career.
He married Vanessa Williams in Surrey in 1962. They had been sweethearts since the age of 14.
On 18 April 2009, George, a heavy smoker, died of
lung cancerLung cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. This growth may lead to metastasis, which is the invasion of adjacent tissue and infiltration beyond the lungs. The vast majority of primary lung cancers are carcinomas of the lung, derived from epithelial cells...
. He is survived by his wife, their son and two daughters.
Financial career
George was appointed Governor of the Bank of England in 1993, succeeding
Robin Leigh-PembertonRobert "Robin" Leigh-Pemberton, Baron Kingsdown, KG, PC is a crossbencher on the House of Lords, and was formerly a lawyer and banker....
, now Lord Kingsdown, and retired on the completion of his second five-year term of office on 30 June 2003. During his governance, the Bank was given independence in setting UK interest rates by
Gordon BrownJames Gordon Brown is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party. Brown became Prime Minister in June 2007, after the resignation of Tony Blair and three days after becoming leader of the governing Labour Party...
, the incoming
Chancellor of the ExchequerThe Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called The Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
after the
1997 general electionThe UK general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992. The Labour Party won the general election in a landslide victory with 418 seats, the most seats the party has ever held...
.
He was succeeded as Governor of the Bank of England in July 2003 by
Mervyn KingMervyn Allister King , is Governor of the Bank of England. He succeeded Sir Edward Georgeon June 30 2003.King studied at Wolverhampton Grammar School, King's College, Cambridge and St John's College, Cambridge...
. He was knighted in 2000 and given a
life peerIn the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles may not be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
age in June 2004 as
Baron George, of
St TudySt Tudy is a small village close to Bodmin Moor in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.-Parish church:The church of St Tudy is of Norman foundation but the north chapel, south aisle and tower were added in the 15th century: it is listed Grade I....
in the County of
CornwallCornwall is a county of England in the United Kingdom, forming the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. It is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Taken with the...
. He was awarded an
honoraryAn honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements...
D.Sc. by the
University of BuckinghamThe University of Buckingham is the only degree-awarding independent university in the United Kingdom. The university has the highest ranking in the UK for student satisfaction. Its highest-rated departments are English, Business, and Law ....
on 4 March 2000, and appointed a
Deputy LieutenantIn the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord-Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
of
CornwallCornwall is a county of England in the United Kingdom, forming the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. It is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Taken with the...
in March 2006.
George served as a Governor of his former school, Dulwich College, between 1998 and 2008, and served as the Chairman of the Governors between 2003 and 2008.