Sir John Andrew Harman
DL (born 30 July 1950,
Castleford
Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins th ...
) is a former Chairman of the
Environment Agency.
Early life
He attended the independent
St George's College, Weybridge. From 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 Univ ...
he gained a
BSc
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...
degree in maths, then did a
PGCE at
Huddersfield College of Education.
Career
He was a maths teacher at
Greenhead College
Greenhead College is a sixth form college, and former grammar school, located in Huddersfield, in the county of West Yorkshire, England. The current principal is Simon Lett. With over 2,700 students, it is a large sixth form college, attractin ...
in Huddersfield from 1973–9. He was Head of Maths at Barnsley Sixth Form College from 1979–90, then Senior Maths Lecturer at
Barnsley College
Barnsley College is a further education college just outside the town centre of Barnsley, England. It has several campuses, including the SciTech Digital Innovation Centre and The Electric Theatre. The college provides A Levels, apprenticesh ...
(it took over the sixth form college) from 1990–7.
He became a member of the
UK Labour Party from 1977 and was elected to the
West Yorkshire Metropolitan Council. After the metropolitan councils were disbanded under
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
, he was elected to, and led,
Kirklees Council
Kirklees Council is the local authority providing most local government services for the borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council and one of five constituent councils of the West Yorkshire Combined Aut ...
from 1986–99, during which he was Councillor for the
Paddock
A paddock is a small enclosure for horses. In the United Kingdom, this term also applies to a field for a general automobile racing competition, particularly Formula 1.
Description
In Canada and the United States of America, a paddock is a small ...
ward of Huddersfield. At the
1987 General Election, he was the parliamentary candidate for
Colne Valley
The Colne Valley is a steep sided valley on the east flank of the Pennine Hills in the English county of West Yorkshire. It takes its name from the River Colne which rises above the town of Marsden and flows eastward towards Huddersfield.
...
, west of Huddersfield, coming second to
Graham Riddick of the Conservatives.
In 2000, he became Chairman of the
Environment Agency, and left in 2008.
Recognition
He received a knighthood in 1997 for services to local government and the environment. Sir John is also a fellow of the
Royal Society of Arts and an honorary fellow of the
Institution of Civil Engineers
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...
.
Personal life
He married Susan Crowther in 1971. They have one son and three daughters.
External links
The Environment CentreEnergy Saving Trust
News items
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harman, John
1950 births
Living people
Labour Party (UK) councillors
Politicians from Castleford
Alumni of the University of Huddersfield
Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester
Schoolteachers from Yorkshire
People educated at St George's College, Weybridge
Councillors in Kirklees
Deputy Lieutenants of West Yorkshire
Knights Bachelor
Alumni of the University of Manchester