Chair of the BBC

The Chair of the BBC, referred to as Chairman when the incumbent is male and Chairwoman when female, is the head of the BBC Board, responsible for maintaining the independence of the BBC and overseeing the functioning of the BBC to fulfil its mission. The chair leads the process for appointing the Director-General and can dismiss the Director-General. The chair of the BBC also acts as the corporation's most senior representative to Parliament and the government, including the devolved administrations.

The chair is formally appointed by the King-in-Council, on the advice of the Secretary of State for a four-year term. The current chairman, Dr Samir Shah, succeeded chairwoman Dame Elan Closs Stephens on 4 March 2024.

List of chairmen Status

Portrait Name Term of office Honour(s) Prime Minister Monarch British Broadcasting Company George VJack Pease, 1st Baron Gainford18 December 192231 December 1926 David Lloyd George Bonar Law Stanley Baldwin Ramsay MacDonald Stanley Baldwin BBC Board of Governors George Villiers, 6th Earl of Clarendon1 January 19271930 Stanley BaldwinRamsay MacDonald John Henry Whitley19303 February 1935William Bridgeman, 1st Viscount Bridgeman193514 August 1935Stanley Baldwin Ronald Collet Norman19351939Neville ChamberlainEdward VIII George VIAllan Powell19391946 Winston ChurchillClement Attlee Philip Inman, 1st Baron Inman19471947Ernest Simon, 1st Baron Simon of Wythenshawe19471952Winston Churchill Elizabeth II Alexander Cadogan19521957Anthony EdenHarold MacmillanArthur fforde19571964Alec Douglas-Home Norman Brook, 1st Baron Normanbrook196415 June 1967Harold WilsonCharles Hill, Baron Hill of Luton19671972Edward HeathMichael Swann19731980Baron Swann for Life in 1981Harold Wilson James CallaghanMargaret Thatcher George Howard19801983 Baron Howard of Henderskelfe for Life in 1981 Stuart Young198329 August 1986Marmaduke Hussey19861996Baron Hussey of North Bradley for Life in 1996John MajorChristopher Bland1 April 199630 September 2001Tony Blair Gavyn Davies1 October 200128 January 2004 Richard Ryder, Baron Ryder of Wensum28 January 200417 May 2004 Michael Grade17 May 200428 November 2006 Baron Grade of Yarmouth for Life in 2011Anthony Salz28 November 200631 December 2006Knighted in 2013 BBC Trust Chitra Bharucha1 January 200730 April 2007Tony BlairSir Michael Lyons1 May 200730 April 2011 Gordon BrownDavid Cameron Chris Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes1 May 20116 May 2014 Diane Coyle6 May 20148 October 2014Rona Fairhead9 October 20142 April 2017Baroness Fairhead for Life in 2017 Theresa May BBC Board Sir David Clementi16 February 2017Became Chairman of the BBC Board on replacement of the BBC Trust on 3 April 201715 February 2021 Knighted in 2004 Theresa MayBoris JohnsonRichard Sharp16 February 202127 June 2023Liz Truss Charles IIIRishi SunakDame Elan Closs Stephens27 June 20234 March 2024Knighted as a Dame in 2019 Dr Samir Shah 4 March 2024IncumbentSir Keir Starmer

See also BBC Charter

References

External links BBC Chairmen