Sir Martin Wakefield Jacomb (born 11 November 1929) is a former Chancellor of the

University of Buckingham , mottoeng = Flying on Our Own Wings , established = 1973; as university college1983; as university , type = Private , endowment = , administrative_staff = 97 academic, 103 support , chance ...

and Chairman of Canary Wharf Group. He was a vice-chairman,

Kleinwort Benson Kleinwort Benson was a leading investment bank that offered a wide range of financial services from offices throughout the United Kingdom and Channel Islands. Two families, the Kleinworts and the Bensons, founded two different merchant banks in L ...

Ltd, from 1976 to 1985, and a deputy chairman of

Barclays Bank Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

between 1985 and 1993.

Education and career

Jacomb was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms w ...

. He was called to the Bar at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1955 and practised as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

until 1968 before embarking upon a successful career in business. In 1985, he was appointed

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 the ...

by HM The Queen. In 1986, he described

insider trading Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider information ...

as a "victimless crime." In 1998, he was appointed the third Chancellor of the University of Buckingham in succession to Baroness Thatcher, who in turn succeeded

Lord Hailsham of St Marylebone Quintin McGarel Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone, (9 October 1907 – 12 October 2001), known as the 2nd Viscount Hailsham between 1950 and 1963, at which point he disclaimed his hereditary peerage, was a British barrister and Conservativ ...

. He was installed in 1999. According to the University of Buckingham, which is one of the two British private universities, "He acombis a strong believer in the need for universities to be independent of the government". He has written that if universities are "to nurture genuinely free and creative academic research" and "be the guardians of liberty which a free society needs" they must be independent of government funding. He has written that the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

should become private in order to avoid an authoritarian government imposing restrictions on admissions. Further, the university's academics will only be able to challenge prevailing opinion if they are independent of government funding. Dependence on government funding, he has argued, has had disastrous effects on the higher education sector in continental Europe. Martin Jacomb, "The solution is to privatise Oxford"
''The Spectator'', 6 December 2006. Jacomb retired from the chancellorship in March 2010. He was succeeded by

Lord Tanlaw Simon Brooke Mackay, Baron Tanlaw (born 30 March 1934) is a former member of the House of Lords. Family and business interests Tanlaw is the fourth son of Kenneth Mackay, 2nd Earl of Inchcape. His mother, the 2nd Earl's second wife, was Leonor ...

Articles by Martin Jacomb

List of articles in ''The Spectator''List of articles in ''The Financial Times''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacomb, Martin 1929 births Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford British bankers Living people People educated at Eton College Members of the Inner Temple Knights Bachelor Fellows of King's College London People associated with the University of Buckingham British barristers Place of birth missing (living people) People of the British Council