Dame Valerie Patricia Marie Strachan, (née Nicholls; born 10 January 1940) is a retired British civil servant. From 1993 to 2000, she was Chair of HM Customs and Excise. Since February 2012, she has been a member of the Judicial Appointments Commission.

Early life and education

Strachan was born on 10 January 1940 to John Jonas Nicholls and Louise Nicholls. She was educated at Newland High School, an all-girls state secondary school in

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

, Yorkshire. She then studied politics at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree.

Career

As a junior civil servant, worked in a number of departments: she first joined HM Customs and Excise in 1961, then moved to the Department of Economic Affairs in 1964, and then worked at the Home Office in 1966. In 1966, she returned to HM Customs and Excise as a principal officer. She was appointed an Assistant Secretary in 1974 and a Commissioner in 1980. From 1985 to 1987, Strachan was on secondment as head of the Joint Management Unit between

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...

and the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...

. From 1987 to 1993, she was one of the Deputy Chairs of the Board of Excise and Customs. Then, from 1 March 1993 to 2000, she served as Chair of the Board of Excise and Customs and therefore as Head of HM Customs and Excise. Having retired from the Civil Service in 2000, Strachan has led an active retirement. From 2001 to 2002, she was a Lay Assessor on the Leggatt Inquiry, which led to the creation of the Tribunals Service. She was Vice Chair of the Big Lottery Fund between 2004 and 2006. From 2006 to 2011, she was a member of the

Rosemary Nelson Inquiry Rosemary Nelson (''née'' Magee; 4 September 1958 – 15 March 1999) was an Irish solicitor who was killed with a bomb planted in her car by an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in 1999. A bomb exploded under Nelson's car at her home in Lurgan ...

. From 2006 to 2012, she was a member of the

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

of the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

. From February 2012 to July 2019, she was a member of the Judicial Appointments Commission.

Personal life

In 1965, Valerie Nicholls married John Strachan. Together, they have two children; one son and one daughter.

Honours

In the

1991 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1991 were appointments by Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by people of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. They were published on 28 December 1990 for the United Kingdom, N ...

, Strachan was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

(CB) in recognition of her service as Deputy chairman of the board of HM Customs and Excise. In the 1998 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was promoted to

Dame Commander Commander ( it, Commendatore; french: Commandeur; german: Komtur; es, Comendador; pt, Comendador), or Knight Commander, is a title of honor prevalent in chivalric orders and fraternal orders. The title of Commander occurred in the medieval mil ...

of the Order of the Bath (DCB), and therefore granted the title ''Dame'', in recognition of her service as chairman of the board of HM Customs and Excise. In 1995, Strachan was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...

(LLD) degree by the

, her ''alma mater''. In July 2013, she was awarded an honorary degree by the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strachan, Valerie 1940 births Living people Alumni of the University of Manchester British civil servants Chairmen of the Board of HM Customs and Excise Civil servants in the Home Office Dames Commander of the Order of the Bath