Edward Alan John George, Baron George (16 September 1938 – 18 April 2009), known as Eddie George, or sometimes as "Steady Eddie", was

Governor of the Bank of England The governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England. It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the bank, with the incumbent grooming their successor. The governor of the Ba ...

from 1993 to 2003 and sat on the board of

NM Rothschild and Sons Rothschild & Co is a multinational investment bank and financial services company, and the flagship of the Rothschild banking group controlled by the French and British branches of the Rothschild family. The banking business of the firm covers th ...

Early life

George was born and grew up in

Carshalton Carshalton () is a town, with a historic village centre, in south London, England, within the London Borough of Sutton. It is situated south-southwest of Charing Cross, in the valley of the River Wandle, one of the sources of which is Carshalto ...

, the son of Alan, a

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

clerk, and his wife Olive. He attended the independent school

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 Independent school (United Kingdom), independent, Day school, day and boarding school for Single-sex education, boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a Public school (United Kingdom), public school, it began as the Col ...

on a scholarship. Having learned to speak

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

at Dulwich, he carried out his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

at the

Joint Services School for Linguists The Joint Services School for Linguists (JSSL) was founded in 1951 by the British armed services to provide language training, principally in Russian, and largely to selected conscripts undergoing National Service. The school closed with the en ...

. He attended and graduated from Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

Financial career

George joined the Bank of England in 1962. Apart from secondments to

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

, the

Bank for International Settlements The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is an international financial institution owned by central banks that "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks". The BIS carries out its work thr ...

and the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...

, he remained there throughout his career. After three years as Deputy Governor, he was appointed

to succeed Robin Leigh-Pemberton, who retired on the completion of his second five-year term of office on 30 June 1993. During the early part of George's governance, his successful relationship with then- Chancellor of the Exchequer

Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham, (born 2 July 1940), often known as Ken Clarke, is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997 as well as serving as de ...

gained for them the nickname of 'the Ken and Eddie Show'. Upon the Labour Party coming to power at the 1997 general election, the Bank was given independence in setting UK interest rates by

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...

, the incoming Chancellor of the Exchequer. George was succeeded as Governor of the Bank of England in July 2003 by Mervyn King. George attracted controversy in 1998 when he was widely reported to have made a statement to London newspaper executives implying that unemployment in the north of England was a price worth paying to preserve affluence in the south of the country. He later claimed that his remarks had been misconstrued.

Later life

George served as a Governor of his former school,

, between 1998 and 2008, and served as the Chairman of the Governors between 2003 and 2008. On 18 April 2009, George, a heavy smoker, died of lung cancer.

Personal life

George married Vanessa George, Lady George ('' née'' Williams) in Surrey in 1962. They had three children. Lady George died in March 2017.

Honours

George was appointed

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

2000 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours were announced on 19 June 2000 to celebrate the Queen's Official Birthday in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: Australia (12 June), New Zealand (13 June),New ZealandThe Queen's Birthday Honours 2000(13 June 2000), ''N ...

. He was made a life peer in June 2004 as Baron George, of St Tudy in the County of Cornwall. He was awarded an honorary

D.Sc. Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

by 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 , chanc ...

on 4 March 2000, and appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

in March 2006.

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Edward 1938 births 2009 deaths Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge British economists Crossbench life peers Deaths from lung cancer in England Deputy Lieutenants of Cornwall English bankers Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom George, Edward George, Baron Nestlé people People educated at Dulwich College Governors of the Bank of England People from Carshalton Deputy Governors of the Bank of England N M Rothschild & Sons people 20th-century English businesspeople Life peers created by Elizabeth II