Press release

Governor of the Bank of England

Her Majesty the Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Mark Carney as Governor of the Bank of England from 1 July 2013.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Her Majesty the Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Mark Carney as Governor of the Bank of England from 1 July 2013. He will succeed Sir Mervyn King. 

Welcoming the appointment the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon George Osborne MP, said:

Mark Carney is the outstanding candidate to be Governor of the Bank of England and help steer Britain through these difficult economic times. He is quite simply the best, most experienced and most qualified person in the world to do the job.

He has done a brilliant job for the Canadian economy as its central bank Governor, avoiding big bail outs and securing growth. He has been chosen by the rest of the world to be the chair of the international body, the Financial Stability Board, charged with strengthening global financial regulation after the financial crisis.

Along with its central role in monetary policy, this Government has put the Bank of England back in charge of regulating our financial system so that we don’t repeat the mistakes of the last decade. Mark Carney is the perfect candidate to take charge of the Bank as it takes on these vital new responsibilities. He will bring strong leadership and a fresh new perspective.

I look forward to working with Mark as we continue to rebalance our economy, deal with our debts, and equip Britain to succeed in the global race. We needed the best - and in Mark Carney we’ve got it.

Notes for editors

  1. Mr Carney is currently Governor of the Bank of Canada, having taken up his office on 1 February 2008. He also currently serves as Chairman of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). He is also a member of the Group of Thirty, and of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum.

  2. Prior to becoming the Governor of the Bank of Canada, Mr Carney was Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Finance (2004 - 2007) and Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada (2003 - 2004). Prior to that, Mr Carney had a thirteen-year career with Goldman Sachs in its London, Tokyo, New York and Toronto offices. Mr Carney has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University (1983 - 1988) and a Masters and Doctorate in economics from Nuffield College, Oxford University (1991 - 1995).

  3. Mr Carney was born in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, Canada in 1965. As a Canadian citizen he is a subject of Her Majesty The Queen. He is married to Diana Fox Carney, an economist and British citizen. They have four daughters. Mr Carney has indicated he intends to apply for British citizenship.

  4. Mr Carney has indicated he intends to serve for five years.

  5. Under the Bank of England Act 1998, as expected to be amended by the Financial Services Bill which is currently being considered by Parliament, the Governor of the Bank of England is appointed by Her Majesty the Queen on advice from the Prime Minister. He was advised by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who oversaw the appointment process, and, as with other public appointments, consulted the Deputy Prime Minister. The selection panel for the recruitment process comprised Sir Nicholas Macpherson, Permanent Secretary HM Treasury; Tom Scholar and John Kingman, Second Permanent Secretaries, HM Treasury; and Sir David Lees, Chair of the Court of the Bank of England.

  6. Her Majesty The Queen has also been pleased to approve, under the Bank of England Act 1998 as amended by the Banking Act 2009, the Chancellor and Prime Minister’s recommendations for the re-appointment of Charles Richard Bean as Deputy Governor of the Bank of England for Monetary Stability from 1 July 2013. Mr Bean has agreed to stay on for a year to help oversee the extension of the Bank of England’s responsibilities and the transition to the new Governor.  He has asked to stand down on 30 June 2014.

Published 26 November 2012