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Sir George Ernest Craythorne Hamilton (born 27 June 1967) is a Northern Ireland retired
police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...
. From 2014 to 2019, he served as the Chief Constable of the
Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ga, Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ') is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it was reform ...
. He was previously the Assistant Chief Constable with responsibility for rural policing.


Early life and education

Hamilton was born on 27 June 1967 in Newtownards, County Down,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. He was educated at Gransha High for Boys, an all-boys
state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
secondary school in
Bangor, County Down Bangor ( ; ) is a city and seaside resort in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the southern side of Belfast Lough. It is within the Belfast metropolitan area and is 13 miles (22 km) east of Belfast city centre, to which it is linke ...
. He studied politics and economics at the
Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
, graduating with a
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
(BA) degree. He also studied at the
University of Ulster sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...
where he completed a
Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...
(MBA) degree.


Career

Hamilton began his policing career in 1985, when he joined the Royal Ulster Constabulary. In 1994, he was promoted to inspector and seconded to a police force in England. In 2009, he joined
Strathclyde Police Strathclyde Police was the territorial police force responsible for the Scottish council areas of Argyll and Bute, City of Glasgow, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfre ...
as Assistant Chief Constable, returning to the PSNI in 2011 as Assistant Chief Constable Criminal Justice.


Chief Constable

Hamilton was selected to succeed Matt Baggott as the Chief Constable of the PSNI in May 2014, and took up his post in June of the same year. He was awarded the
Queen's Police Medal The King's Police Medal (KPM) is awarded to police in the United Kingdom for gallantry or distinguished service. It was also formerly awarded within the wider British Empire, including Commonwealth countries, most of which now have their own hono ...
(QPM) in the
2015 Birthday Honours The 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as ...
. In October 2017 Hamilton, along with Deputy Chief Constable Drew Harris and Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton, were placed under investigation by the
Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland The Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (OPONI; ga, Ombudsman Póilíní do Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster-Scots: ''Owersman fur tha Polis o Norlin Airlann'') is a non-departmental public body intended to provide an independent, im ...
. The inquiry focuses on "concerns about how the Police Service of Northern Ireland conducted an investigation into allegations of bribery and fraud in 2014". In January 2019, Hamilton announced that he would retire in June 2019. He had been offered a three-year contract extension but he rejected it. On 8 June 2019, as part of the Queen's 2019 Birthday Honours for the United Kingdom, Hamilton was made a
Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...
"for services to Policing and to the community in Northern Ireland." Hamilton was knighted in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to policing and the community in Northern Ireland.


Honours



References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, George Living people Chief Constables of the Police Service of Northern Ireland Royal Ulster Constabulary officers British Chief Constables People from Bangor, County Down Northern Irish recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Alumni of the Open University Alumni of Ulster University 1967 births Knights Bachelor