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Â鶹Éç Trust appointments: Lord Patten as Chairman and Diane Coyle as Vice-Chairman

Date: 07.04.2011     Last updated: 23.09.2014 at 09.53
The Government today confirmed the appointment of Lord Patten as Chairman and Diane Coyle as Vice-Chairman of the Â鶹Éç Trust…

The announcement can be found here: 

Welcoming the announcement, Â鶹Éç Trust Chairman Sir Michael Lyons said:

"I welcome Lord Patten as he takes over the Chairmanship of the Â鶹Éç Trust. I am confident he will be a strong defender of licence fee payers' interests and I wish him well. I would also like to congratulate Diane for her expanded role, which properly reflects her contribution to the Trust since its inception."

Lord Patten said:

"The Â鶹Éç is among our greatest national institutions and a key part of British cultural identity, at home and abroad. It is a privilege to take on the Chairmanship and to play a part in helping the Â鶹Éç realise the vision of public service and public value which are at the core of its mission."

Diane Coyle said:

"I'm proud and pleased about the opportunity to take on further responsibilities at the Â鶹Éç Trust. As we navigate a route through the changes in audience behaviour in a fully digital world, I look forward to leading our work in ensuring the Â鶹Éç stays firmly focused on delivering public value from the services it provides."

Ends.

Notes to editors

  1. Lord Patten's preferred candidacy was announced on 25 February, and he attended a pre-appointment hearing with the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee on 10 March. The Select Committee announced on 12 March that it considered him to be a suitable candidate for the post. Following this, the Secretary of State submitted his recommendation to appoint Lord Patten to the Lord President of the Council, requesting the approval of Her Majesty in Council under the provisions of the Â鶹Éç's Royal Charter. The Privy Council met on 7 April and approved the appointments of Lord Patten and Diane Coyle.
  2. Lord Patten of Barnes is Chancellor of Oxford University and Co-Chair of the UK-India Round Table. He was a Member of Parliament from 1979 to 1992. He was a Minister in the Northern Ireland Office and Department of Education and became Minister for Overseas Development in 1986. He became Secretary of State for the Environment in 1989 and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Chairman of the Conservative Party in 1990. He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1989 and a Companion of Honour in 1998.
  3. Lord Patten was appointed Governor of Hong Kong in April 1992, a position he held until 1997, overseeing the return of Hong Kong to China. He was Chairman of the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland, set up under the Good Friday Peace Agreement, which reported in 1999. In September 1999 he became European Commissioner for External Relations, a post he held until November 2004. On leaving office in Brussels he was made a Life Peer and took his seat in the House of Lords in January 2005.
  4. He was Chancellor of Newcastle University from 1998 to 2008 and was elected Chancellor of Oxford University in 2003. Lord Patten has written a number of best-selling books on international politics. He is married to Lavender, a barrister and family mediator, and has three married daughters and six grand-children.
  5. Diane Coyle's biography can be found here.
  6. Both appointments are made for four years from 01 May 2011 to 30 April 2015.
  7. The Trust has 12 members, led by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman. All members are responsible for representing the public interest as a whole. The Trust includes four Trustees formally designated as members for each of the constituent nations of the United Kingdom. Full details of the other Trustees members and biographies can be found here.
  8. Details of how Trustees are appointed can be found here.