Director-General of the BBC

Last updated

Director-General of the BBC
BBC Logo 2021.svg
Eurovision Song Contest 2023 - Lucy Frazer in Liverpool - 52901784187 (Tim Davie).jpg
Incumbent
Tim Davie
since 1 September 2020
Member of BBC Board
Executive Committee
Reports to BBC Board
Chairman of the BBC
Appointer BBC Board
Formation1927
First holder Sir John Reith
Salary£450,000

The director-general of the British Broadcasting Corporation is chief executive and (from 1994) editor-in-chief of the BBC.

Contents

The post-holder was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC (for the period 1927 to 2007) and then the BBC Trust (from 2007 to 2017). Since 2017 the director-general has been appointed by the BBC Board.

To date, 17 individuals have been appointed director-general, plus an additional two who were appointed in an acting capacity only. The current director-general is Tim Davie, who succeeded Tony Hall on 1 September 2020. [1]

List of directors-general

No.ImageDirector-GeneralTerm of officeLength of termHonour(s)
1 Lord reith.jpg Sir John Reith 1 January 192730 June 193811 yearsKnighted 1 January 1927, at the start of his term as DG. [2] Peerage 21 October 1940, after stepping down as DG. [3] Appointed to the Order of the Thistle 18 February 1969. [4]
2 Sir Frederick Wolff Ogilvie (1893-1949) - BBC.jpg Sir Frederick Ogilvie 19 July 193826 January 19423½ yearsKnighted 10 June 1942, after stepping down as DG
3 Sir Cecil Graves and Robert Foot 26 January 19426 September 194319 monthsKnighted 1939, before becoming DG
4 Robert Foot 6 September 194331 March 19447 months
5 William John Haley - BBC - 1942-10-13 (cropped).jpg Sir William Haley 194419528 yearsKnighted 1946, during his term as DG
6 Sir Ian Jacob 195219597 yearsKnighted 1 January 1960, after stepping down as DG
7 Sir Hugh Greene 196019699 yearsKnighted 1964, during his term as DG
8 Sir Charles Curran 196919778 yearsKnighted 1 January 1974, during his term as DG
9 Sir Ian Trethowan 197719825 yearsKnighted 1980, during his term as DG
10 Alasdair Milne 1982January 1987 [lower-alpha 1] 5 years
11 Sir Michael Checkland 198719925 years
12 Official portrait of Lord Birt crop 2.jpg Sir John Birt 199220008 yearsKnighted 27 October 1998 [6] during his term as DG.
13 Greg Dyke from acrofan (cropped).jpg Greg Dyke 200029 January 20044 years
Mark Byford [lower-alpha 2] January 2004June 20045 months
14 Mark Thompson, Nytimes @ SXSW 2016 (cropped).jpg Mark Thompson 22 June 200417 September 20128 yearsKnighted 17 June 2023, after stepping down as DG.
15 George Entwistle 17 September 201210 November 201254 days
Tim Davie (5095813751) (cropped).jpg Tim Davie [lower-alpha 2] 11 November 20121 April 2013141 days
16 Official portrait of Lord Hall of Birkenhead crop 2, 2021.jpg Tony Hall, Baron Hall of Birkenhead 2 April 201331 August 2020 [7] [8] 7 yearsLife peerage 19 March 2010, before appointment as DG.
17 Eurovision Song Contest 2023 - Lucy Frazer in Liverpool - 52901784187 (Tim Davie).jpg Tim Davie 1 September 2020 [1] Incumbent

Italics indicate that the individual was temporarily appointed as acting director-general. [9]

  1. Ordered to resign by BBC Governors. [5]
  2. 1 2 Temporarily appointed as acting director-general

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References

  1. 1 2 "Tim Davie: BBC executive named director general". 5 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  2. "London Gazette, 1 January 1927".
  3. "London Gazette, 29 October 1940".
  4. "No. 44794". The London Gazette . 21 February 1969. p. 1995.
  5. "Head of BBC Quits, Ending Stormy Tenure". The New York Times. AP. 30 January 1987. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  6. "Honours and Awards". London Gazette. 14 September 1999.
  7. Plunkett, John (25 January 2013). "BBC director general Lord Hall to take charge on 2 April". The Guardian . Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  8. "Lord Hall to step down as BBC's director general". BBC News . 21 January 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  9. "Directors-General". bbc.com. Retrieved 15 June 2021.