Sir Maurice Sydney Lipworth KC (Hon) (born 13 May 1931), is a South African lawyer, businessman, public servant and philanthropist.

Early life

Lipworth was born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, South Africa, in 1931 and was educated at King Edward VII School in Johannesburg.

Career

He is a co-founder of Hambro Life Assurance with Sir Mark Weinberg and Lord Joel Joffe in the UK (subsequently called Allied Dunbar Assurance and now

Zurich Financial Services Zurich Insurance Group Ltd is a Swiss insurance company, headquartered in Zürich, and the country's largest insurer. As of 2021, the group is the world's 112th largest public company according to ''Forbes'' Global 2000s list, and in 2011 it ran ...

) (1971–1988). From 1988 to 1993 he served as Chairman of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission in the UK (now the Competition Commission). He subsequently served as Chairman of Zeneca plc (now

AstraZeneca AstraZeneca plc () is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, England. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includin ...

plc) and Deputy Chairman of

National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it ...

plc. He also served as Chairman of the Financial Reporting Council and founding Trustee of the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation (until 2005). He is also President of the

Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, W ...

Trust, as well as holding several other directorships and charitable appointments involved with the arts. Lipworth was knighted in 1991. He was called to the London Bar, appointed QC (hc) (1993) and is a Bencher,

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 ...

. He is a member of the Chambers at

One Essex Court One Essex Court is a set of barristers' chambers in London, specialising in commercial litigation, which was founded in 1966. Currently comprising 131 full-time members, 52 of whom are ''silks'' or King's Counsel. One Essex Court's members inclu ...

. He was awarded an honorary LL.D from the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

in 2003.University of the Witwatersrand – Honorary graduates

References

British corporate directors Members of the Inner Temple English Jews Knights Bachelor Alumni of King Edward VII School (Johannesburg) 1931 births Living people AstraZeneca people South African chairpersons of corporations 20th-century South African lawyers Honorary King's Counsel English King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel 21st-century King's Counsel {{SouthAfrica-business-bio-stub