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 his or her successor. The Governor of the Bank of England is also Chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee, with a major role in guiding national economic and monetary policy, and is therefore one of the most important public officials in the United Kingdom.
According to the original charter of 27 July 1694 the bank's affairs would be supervised by a Governor, a Deputy Governor, and 24 directors. In its current incarnation, the Bank's Court of Directors has 12 members, of whom five are various designated executives of the Bank.
The 121st and current Governor is Andrew Bailey, who began his term in March 2020.

Governors of the Bank of England (1694–present)

NameIn office
Sir John Houblon1694–1697
Sir William Scawen1697–1699
Nathaniel Tench1699–1701
John Ward1701–1703
Abraham Houblon1703–1705
Sir James Bateman1705–1707
Francis Eyles1707–1709
Sir Gilbert Heathcote1709–1711
Nathaniel Gould1711–1713
John Rudge1713–1715
Sir Peter Delmé1715–1717
Sir Gerard Conyers1717–1719
John Hanger1719–1721
Sir Thomas Scawen1721–1723
Sir Gilbert Heathcote1723–1725
William Thompson1725–1727
Humphry Morice1727–1729
Samuel Holden1729–1731
Sir Edward Bellamy1731–1733
Horatio Townshend1733–1735
Bryan Benson1735–1737
Thomas Cooke1737–1740
Delillers Carbonnel1740–1741
Stamp Brooksbank1741–1743
William Fawkener1743–1745
Charles Savage1745–1747
Benjamin Longuet1747–1749
William Hunt1749–1752
Alexander Sheafe1752–1754
Charles Palmer1754–1756
Matthews Beachcroft1756–1758
Merrick Burrell1758–1760
Bartholomew Burton1760–1762
Robert Marsh1762–1764
John Weyland1764–1766
Matthew Clarmont1766–1769
William Cooper1769–1771
Edward Payne1771–1773
James Sperling1773–1775
Samuel Beachcroft1775–1777
Peter Gaussen1777–1779
Daniel Booth1779–1781
William Ewer1781–1783
Richard Neave1783–1785
George Peters1785–1787
Edward Darell1787–1789
Mark Weyland1789–1791
Samuel Bosanquet1791–1793
Godfrey Thornton1793–1795
Daniel Giles1795–1797
Thomas Raikes1797–1799
Samuel Thornton1799–1801
Job Mathew Raikes1801–1802
Joseph Nutt1802–1804
Benjamin Winthrop1804–1806
Beeston Long1806–1808
John Whitmore1808–1810
John Pearse1810–1812
William Manning1812–1814
William Mellish1814–1816
Jeremiah Harman1816–1818
George Dorrien1818–1820
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Pole1820–1822
John Bowden1822–1824
Cornelius Buller1824–1826
John Baker Richards1826–1828
Samuel Drewe1828–1830
John Horsley Palmer1830–1833
Richard Mee Raikes1833–1834
James Pattison1834–1837
Timothy Abraham Curtis1837–1839
Sir John Reid1839–1841
Sir John Pelly1841–1842
William Cotton1842–1845
John Benjamin Heath1845–1847
William RobinsonApril–August 1847
James Morris1847–1849
Henry James Prescot1849–1851
Thomson Hankey1851–1853
John Hubbard1853–1855
Thomas Matthias Weguelin1855–1857
Sheffield Neave1857–1859
Bonamy Dobrée1859–1861
Alfred Latham1861–1863
Kirkman Hodgson1863–1865
Henry Lancelot Holland1865–1867
Thomas Newman Hunt1867–1869
Robert Wigram Crawford1869–1871
George Lyall1871–1873
Benjamin Buck Greene1873–1875
Hucks Gibbs1875–1877
Edward Howley Palmer1877–1879
John William Birch1879–1881
Henry Grenfell1881–1883
John Saunders Gilliat1883–1885
James Pattison Currie1885–1887
Mark Collet1887–1889
William Lidderdale1889–1892
David Powell1892–1895
Albert George Sandeman1895–1897
Hugh Colin Smith1897–1899
Samuel Steuart Gladstone1899–1901
Sir Augustus Prevost1901–1903
Samuel Morley1903–1905
Alexander Falconer Wallace1905–1907
William Middleton Campbell1907–1909
Reginald Eden Johnston1909–1911
Alfred Clayton Cole1911–1913
Walter Cunliffe1913–1918
Brien Cokayne1918–1920
Montagu Norman1920–1944
Lord Catto1944–1949
Lord Cobbold1949–1961
Lord Cromer1961–1966
Sir Leslie O'Brien1966–1973
Gordon Richardson1973–1983
Robin Leigh-Pemberton1983–1993
Sir Edward George1993–2003
Sir Mervyn King2003–2013
Mark Carney2013–2020
Andrew Bailey2020–present