Sir Kenneth Berrill (28 August 1920 – 30 April 2009) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and

public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

Early life and education

Born at

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. The ...

, London, Berrill was the son Stanley Ernest Berrill (1896–1984), a clerk at a men's outfitters, and Lilian May (née Blakeley). He won a scholarship to

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

to train as a geography teacher, working at Romford greyhound stadium in the evenings. He subsequently transferred to the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, where he read economics, taking a degree in 1941, then served in the

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is a corps of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's Professional Engineers". History Prior to REME's for ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He returned to LSE, completing an MA in 1949.

Career

After taking his MA, Berrill was a fellow and bursar at

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The college is located in the historic city-centre of Camb ...

, moving in 1962 to King's, where he remained until 1969. At this time, he was developing a reputation as an economic adviser, including for the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

, and for overseas governments. In 1967, he was appointed a special adviser to the Treasury. Throughout his career, he held a number of posts including chief economic adviser to the Treasury in the closing months of Edward Heath's premiership, and head of the

Central Policy Review Staff The Central Policy Review Staff (CPRS), nicknamed the "Think-Tank", was an independent unit within the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom tasked with developing long term strategy and co-ordinating policy across government departments. It was es ...

from 1974 to 1980 and the chairmanship of the

Securities and Investments Board The Financial Services Authority (FSA) was a quasi-judicial body accountable for the regulation of the financial services industry in the United Kingdom between 2001 and 2013. It was founded as the Securities and Investments Board (SIB) in 1985 ...

until 1988. He was awarded an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Laws) by the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

in 1974. In 1950, he was member of an Anglo-Swiss expedition which was the first to climb

Abi Gamin Abi Gamin (also known as Ibi Gamin) is a Himalayan mountain peak mostly situated in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand state in India, northeast of Kamet. Its summit is on the border with Tibet and its northern slope is in the Ngari Prefect ...

. In 1981, he became the senior partner of the prominent City stockbroking firm of Vickers da Costa.

Personal life

In 1941, Berrill married Brenda West, with whom he had a son; he married secondly, in 1950, June Phillips, with whom he had a son and a daughter, and married thirdly, in 1977, Jane Marris.Obituary – The Telegraph – 17 May 2009
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References

External links

(''Telegraph'' obituary)
Lives remembered: Sir Kenneth Berrill…
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berrill, Kenneth 1920 births 2009 deaths English economists English civil servants Alumni of the London School of Economics Alumni of University College London Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of King's College, Cambridge Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath English mountain climbers Fellows of King's College London British Army personnel of World War II Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers soldiers