Gordon William Humphreys Richardson, Baron Richardson of Duntisbourne (25 November 1915 – 22 January 2010) was a British banker, former lawyer, and former

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 choosing and mentoring a successor. The governor ...

Biography

Richardson was born to John Robert and Nellie Richardson, and was educated at

Nottingham High School Nottingham High School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private fee-charging day school for boys and girls in Nottingham, England, with an infant and junior school (ages 4–11) and senior school (ages 11–18). There were 1177 stu ...

and

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

. He served during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and became a Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, Military Division, in 1944. He was called to the bar at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1946, becoming a member of the Bar Council between 1951 and 1955, but abandoned law for a career in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. He became a director of J. Henry Schroder & Co in 1957, and was later chairman between 1962 and 1973. He was appointed Governor of the Bank of England in 1973, and remained in that position until 1983. November 1973 saw a run on London and County Securities, marking the start of the

secondary banking crisis Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

. While serving as governor, Richardson joined the Privy Council (1976) and was awarded the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer O ...

(1979). He was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baron Richardson of Duntisbourne, of Duntisbourne in the County of

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, and a Knight Companion of the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

, both in 1983. In February 1978, Richardson delivered the inaugural

Mais Lecture The Mais Lecture has been hosted since 1978, on a mostly annual basis, by Bayes Business School (formerly Cass), part of City, University of London. The lecture is named in honour of Alan Mais, Baron Mais, Lord Mais, the 645th Lord Mayor of London ...

, entitled "Reflections on the Conduct of Monetary Policy". Since then, the annual lecture has come to be regarded as a leading event in the banking and financial community of the City of London, hosting each of the subsequent

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

Governors, as well as

Prime Ministers A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rat ...

Chancellors of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

, and European Central Bankers. Richardson was a member of the

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 42 countries and more than 80,000 employees, the firm's clients in ...

advisory board from 1984. Between 1985 and 1991, he was a member of the

Group of Thirty The Group of Thirty, often abbreviated to G30, is an international body of financiers and academics which aims to deepen understanding of economic and financial issues and to examine consequences of decisions made in the public and private sec ...

, and thereafter remained as their Honorary Chair. He was chairman of the

Pilgrim Trust The Pilgrim Trust is an independent charitable grant-making trust in the United Kingdom. The Trust's aims are to improve the life chances of the most vulnerable and preserve the best of the past for the public to enjoy. The Trust awards approxima ...

from 1984 to 1989. On the evening of 22 January 2010, the Bank of England released a statement announcing Richardson's death.

Coat of Arms

Footnotes

References

External links

Lord Richardson of Duntisbourne
– Daily Telegraph obituary {{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson of Duntisbourne, Gordon Richardson, Baron 1915 births 2010 deaths Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge English bankers Crossbench life peers Deputy lieutenants of Gloucestershire Knights of the Garter Members of the Order of the British Empire Members of Gray's Inn Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Governors of the Bank of England British Army personnel of World War II Royal Artillery officers People educated at Nottingham High School Schroders people 20th-century English businesspeople Life peers created by Elizabeth II