Sir Hugh Carleton Greene (15 November 1910 – 19 February 1987) was a British television executive and journalist. He was
director-general of the BBC
The director-general of the British Broadcasting Corporation is chief executive and (from 1994) editor-in-chief of the BBC.
The position was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC (for the period of 1927 to 2007) and then t ...
from 1960 to 1969.
After working for newspapers in the 1930s, Greene spent most of his later career with the BBC, rising through the managerial ranks of overseas broadcasting and then news for the main domestic channels. He encountered opposition from some politicians and activists opposed to his modernising agenda, but under his leadership the BBC was recognised to be outperforming its commercial rival,
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
, and was awarded a second television channel (
BBC 2
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
) by the British government and authorised to introduce colour television to Britain.
After retiring from the BBC, Greene published several books, including a collaboration with his brother, the novelist
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
, and made television programmes both for the BBC and its commercial rival.
Background
Greene was born on 15 November 1910 in
Berkhamsted
Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new town ...
, Hertfordshire, the youngest of four sons and the fifth of the six children of Charles Henry Greene, headmaster of
Berkhamsted School
Berkhamsted School is an independent day school in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. The present school was formed in 1997 by the amalgamation of the original Berkhamsted School, founded in 1541 by John Incent, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, ...
, and his wife (and cousin), Marion Raymond, the daughter of the Rev Carleton Greene, vicar of
Great Barford
Great Barford is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, a few miles north-east of Bedford. It lies on the River Great Ouse at . It is twinned with Wöllstein, Germany. The village is bypassed by the busy A421 road on the way betwe ...
.
Among the couple's other children were
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
, the novelist, and
Raymond Greene
Charles Raymond Greene (17 April 1901 – 6 December 1982) was a British doctor and an accomplished mountaineer.
Biography
Greene was born in Berkhamsted.Merton College, Oxford
Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...
, where he obtained a second class in classical moderations (1931) and English (1933).
Before his undergraduate years at Merton, Greene had spent some time in Germany and, after graduating, he returned there, beginning his career as a journalist. He worked in Munich for the British publications ''The Daily Herald
''Herald'' or ''The Herald'' is the name of various newspapers.
''Herald'' or ''The Herald'' Australia
* ''The Herald'' (Adelaide) and several similar names (1894–1924), a South Australian Labor weekly, then daily
* '' Barossa and Light Heral ...
'' and the ''New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
'',[ and in 1934 he joined the Berlin office of '']The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'', becoming its chief correspondent in 1938.["Greene, Sir Hugh (Carleton), (1910–19 Feb. 1987)"]
''Who's Who & Who Was Who'', Oxford University Press. Retrieved 22 March 2019 The writer of his entry in the ''Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'', Colin Shaw, comments that Greene's direct witnessing of the Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
deeply influenced him for the rest of his life, "teaching him to hate intolerance and the degradation of character to which the loss of freedom led".[ He was expelled from Germany in May 1939 in reprisal for the expulsion from London of a journalist and Nazi agent, Rudolf Rösel.
''The Daily Telegraph'' sent Greene to Warsaw but his time there was brief. In September 1939, the Germans invaded Poland and he was forced to leave. As the war spread in Europe he reported from Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, the Netherlands, Belgium and finally France, returning to Britain in June 1940, narrowly escaping the German army's arrival in Paris.]["Sir Hugh Greene"]
''The Times'', 21 February 1987, p. 14 After a few months in the Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
as a pilot officer in intelligence, he was released to join the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's German service, becoming its news editor. Throughout the war, the BBC remained committed to impartial and accurate reporting to enemy-occupied territories.