Sir Nicholas Lionel John Montagu KCB (born 12 March 1944) is a retired

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Civil Servant. He was Chairman of the

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from 1997 to 2004, before its merger with

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to create Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs in 2005. Nick Montagu was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

and New College,

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, where he was Secretary of the

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, President of New College

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and obtained a double First in classics,

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and philosophy. Whilst at New College, he was a member of the team that won the second series of ''

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''. Immediately after leaving Oxford in 1966, he became a lecturer in philosophy at

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, remaining there until 1974, when he joined the Civil Service as a Direct Entry Principal. Montagu served over the next 30 years in a number of government Departments, including Health and Social Security, the Cabinet Office,

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and

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. He was involved, as a civil servant, in a number of key policies for both

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and

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governments, including the establishment of

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, major pension reforms and the privatisation of the railway. In 1997 he was appointed Chairman of the Inland Revenue through an open competition. Over the next seven years, Montagu led the Inland Revenue through the greatest changes in its history, as it became a social department responsible for paying out what had previously been social security benefits and led the rest of Whitehall in the development of electronic services. He changed the culture of the department, making it more outward-facing and responsive to its customers, and took a particular interest in diversity, for which he was appointed the Civil Service Diversity Champion. Montagu also chaired the Civil Service Benevolent Fund. During his time the Revenue won numerous awards for its achievements in this field. In his last year as chairman, Montagu became embroiled in two controversies, the first when the systems installed by IT firm EDS for the new tax credits system failed to work (EDS subsequently paid nearly £100m compensation for this failur

, and the second over the joint sale, with Customs, of the Revenue's estate to a company headquartered in Bermuda. This decision, required by the UK Treasury, Treasury as part of the 1998 public spending settlement, was based on legal advice that to have excluded the company would have been illegal under European law; it was subsequently described by the National Audit Office as a model for other departments and a commercially sound deal PFI: the STEPS Deal" HC: 530 2003-2004 Since retiring in 2004, Montagu has been associated with a number of commercial activities, mainly in the pensions and insurance field and on

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' Advisory Board, and with higher education. He also developed and facilitated governance workshops for Ministers and civil servants in a number of developing countries. He is currently (since February 2012) Chairman of the

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, Chairman of Council at

Queen Mary, University of London , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

(since August 2009), and was previously Chair of the Committee of University Chairs (from 2011 -2014).

Personal life

Montagu is married and has two daughters.http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/menus/aboutmenu.htm About Us - HM Revenue and Customs

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montagu, Nicholas Living people 1944 births Chairmen of the Board of Inland Revenue British civil servants English Jews Contestants on University Challenge