Sir Malcolm John Methven (14 February 1926 – 23 April 1980) was a British businessman, and Director General of the

Confederation of British Industry The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is a UK business organisation, which in total claims to speak for 190,000 businesses, this is made up of around 1,500 direct members and 188,500 non-members. The non members are represented through the 1 ...

from 2 July 1976 to 23 April 1980.

Life

Malcolm John Methven was born on 14 February 1926 in Ledbury, the son of Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm David Methven OBE, and his wife, Helen Marion Watson. Methven was educated at

Mill Hill School Mill Hill School is a 13–18 mixed independent, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. History A committee of Nonconformist ...

and then studied law at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of t ...

. There he was a Tapp exhibitioner. He gained his law tripos in 1949 and qualified as a solicitor in 1950. He joined

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

Corporation as a lawyer in 1952 but left

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...

in 1957 to serve as lawyer to ICI (metals) in Birmingham, later relocating to Millbank in London. In 1968 he was placed in charge of purchasing and in 1970 became Deputy Chairman of ICI's Mond division. He left ICI in 1973 to become the first Director General of the newly created Office of Fair Trading. In 1976 he became Director General of the

.ODNB 1971-1980:Methven Methven was knighted by Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

in 1978. He died in King Edward VII Hospital, London on 23 April 1980 of a heart attack following a routine operation aged 54.

Family

In 1952 he married Margaret Field Nicholas, daughter of Air Commodore Charles Henry Nicholas (1894-1966). They had three daughters before divorce in 1977. Later in 1977 he married Karen Jane Caldwell, daughter of Walter Anderson Caldwell, a research chemist.

Artistic Recognition

A bronze bust of Methven by

Franta Belsky František Bělský (also known as Franta Belsky; 6 April 1921 – 5 July 2000) was a Czech sculptor. He was known for large-scale abstract works of public art as well as more iconographic statues and busts of noted 20th-century figures such ...

stands at the entrance of the Methven Room at CBI headquarters at

Centre Point Centre Point is a building in Central London, comprising a 34-storey tower; a 9-storey block to the east including shops, offices, retail units and maisonettes; and a linking block between the two at first-floor level. It occupies 101–103 ...

in London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Methven, John 1926 births 1980 deaths 20th-century British businesspeople Knights Bachelor