Chairperson of the BBC
Incumbent Elan Closs Stephens Acting since 27 June 2023
BBC Board BBC
Abbreviation	COTBBC[citation needed]
Member of	BBC Board
Appointer	Monarch, on the advice of the Secretary of State.
Term length	Four years, renewable once
Constituting instrument	Royal charter
First holder	The Lord Gainford
Salary	£160,000

The Chairman of the BBC 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.^[1][2] The chairman leads the process for appointing the Director-General and can dismiss the Director-General.^[3] The chairman of the BBC also acts as the corporation's most senior representative to Parliament and the government, including the devolved administrations.^[4]

The chairman is formally appointed by the King-in-Council, on the advice of the Secretary of State for a four-year term.^[3] The current chairwoman, Dame Elan Closs Stephens, succeeded Richard Sharp on 27 June 2023.^[5]

List of chairmen

Status

Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Honour(s)	Prime Minister	Monarch
Chairman of the Board of Governors of the British Broadcasting Company[edit]						George V r. 1910–1936
	The Lord Gainford (1860–1943)	18 December 1922	31 December 1926		David Lloyd George
					Bonar Law
					Stanley Baldwin
					Ramsay MacDonald
					Stanley Baldwin
Chairman of the Board of Governors of the BBC[edit]
	The Earl of Clarendon (1877–1955)	1 January 1927	1930		Stanley Baldwin
					Ramsay MacDonald
	John Henry Whitley (1866–1935)	1930	3 February 1935 (Died in Office)
	The Viscount Bridgeman (1864–1935)	1935	14 August 1935 (Died in Office)
					Stanley Baldwin
	Ronald Collet Norman (1873–1963)	1935	1939
					Neville Chamberlain	Edward VIII r. 1936
						George VI r. 1936–1952
	Allan Powell (1876–1948)	1939	1946
					Winston Churchill
					Clement Attlee
	The Lord Inman (1892–1979)	1947	1947
	The Lord Simon of Wythenshawe (1879–1960)	1947	1952
					Winston Churchill	Elizabeth II r. 1952–2022
	Alexander Cadogan (1884–1968)	1952	1957
					Anthony Eden
					Harold Macmillan
	Arthur fforde (1900–1985)	1957	1964
					Alec Douglas-Home
	The Lord Normanbrook (1902–1967)	1964	15 June 1967 (Died in Office)		Harold Wilson
	The Lord Hill of Luton (1904–1989)	1967	1972
					Edward Heath
	Michael Swann (1920–1990)	1973	1980	Baron Swann for Life in 1981
					Harold Wilson
					James Callaghan
					Margaret Thatcher
	George Howard (1920–1984)	1980	1983	Baron Howard of Henderskelfe for Life in 1981
	Stuart Young (1934–1986)	1983	29 August 1986 (Died in Office)
	Marmaduke Hussey (1923–2006)	1986	1996	Baron Hussey of North Bradley for Life in 1996
					John Major
	Christopher Bland (1938–2017)	1 April 1996	30 September 2001
					Tony Blair
	Gavyn Davies (1950–)	1 October 2001	28 January 2004
	The Lord Ryder of Wensum (1949–)	28 January 2004	17 May 2004
	Michael Grade (1943–)	17 May 2004	28 November 2006	Baron Grade of Yarmouth for Life in 2011
	Anthony Salz (1950–)	28 November 2006	31 December 2006	Knighted in 2013
Chairman of the BBC Trust[edit]
	Chitra Bharucha (1945–)	1 January 2007	30 April 2007		Tony Blair
	Sir Michael Lyons (1949–)	1 May 2007	30 April 2011
					Gordon Brown
					David Cameron
	The Lord Patten of Barnes (1944–)	1 May 2011	6 May 2014
	Diane Coyle (1961–)	6 May 2014	8 October 2014
	Rona Fairhead (1961–)	9 October 2014	2 April 2017	Baroness Fairhead for Life in 2017
					Theresa May
Chairman of the BBC Board[edit]
	Sir David Clementi (1949–)	16 February 2017[6][7]	15 February 2021[7]	Knighted in 2004	Theresa May
					Boris Johnson
	Richard Sharp (1956–)	16 February 2021[8]	27 June 2023[9][10]
					Liz Truss
						Charles III r. 2022–present
					Rishi Sunak
	Dame Elan Closs Stephens (1949–)	27 June 2023	Expected to stay in role for 12 months or less	Knighted as a Dame in 2019