Lord Kerr resigns after six years as Imperial Council Chair

Lord Kerr, Chairman of the Imperial College Council for over six years, intends to step down in the Summer, a staff briefing indicated. The briefing included an announcement inviting members of the College to encourage people they know as suitable candidates to express interest.

John Olav Kerr, Baron Kerr of Kinlochard took up the post of Imperial’s Chairman of Court and Council in January 2005. He was ambassador and UK permanent representative to the EU for five years and became Deputy Chairman and Senior Independent Director of Shell. Educated in Pembroke College, Oxford, Lord Kerr is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and had commented “to work for Imperial is a huge honour. They are, and will stay, second to none.”

The role of Chairman of College’s Council is of international standing and the person appointed will have many contacts in the higher reaches of government, industry or other influential bodies. They will be expected to lead the Council and work with the Rector closely in order to fulfill its responsibilities regarding the governance and direction of the College.

As the search for Chairman commences, speculation has arisen over who would be appropriate to succeed Lord Kerr. The resulting candidate will be invited for an informal and confidential discussion with the Search Committee, which is chaired by Lord Tugendhat, who is the Chairman of the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and is an external member of Council. The position is not paid.

The Council of Imperial College is defined by Royal Charter as the “governing and executive body of the College”, responsible for finance, property, investments and general business, and for setting the general strategic direction of the institution. There are nineteen members of Council with a majority being lay members. The Council holds meetings at least three times during the academic year and are further tasked with important decisions and recommendations influencing the appointment of high profile positions in College, such as the Rector.

Members of the College are invited to encourage suitable candidates to email college.secretary@imperial.ac.uk expressing their interest by the 11th of February. As previously, the post hopes to attract senior and respected individuals with great competency in finance and politics.

Profile: Lord Kerr

Baron Kerr of Kinlochard – more commonly known as Lord Kerr – was born in Grantown-on-Spey, Scotland in 1942. He was educated at Glasgow Academy and Pembroke College, Oxford, holding honorary degrees from the Universities of St Andrews, Aston and Glasgow. He joined the UK Diplomatic Service in 1966 which included postings at the British Embassy in Moscow, and at the High Commission in Pakistan.

Kerr was seconded to the Treasury from 1979 to 1984 and became Principal Private Secretary to two Chancellors of the Exchequer. He was Ambassador and UK Permanent Representative to the European Union from 1990 to 1995 and then became Ambassador to the US in Washington until 1997 before returning to London.

He was awarded the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, appointed CMG, KCMG and GCMG in 2001. He serves in the Law and Institutions sub committee of the EU Select Committee in the House of Lords and is the Chairman of the Centre for European Reform and Vice President of the European Policy Centre.

He also took the role of Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office and Head of the Diplomatic Service, after which he became a director of Shell Transport and Trading (now Royal Dutch Shell plc), chairing the group of Directors. He is now Deputy Chairman and Senior Independent Director. Lord Kerr is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and in 2004, he was created a life peer as Baron Kerr of Kinlochard. He later acquired the role of Chairman of the Court and Council of Imperial College from 2005.

Who might replace him?

As the search for a new Chairman begins, Felix decided to gaze into its crystal ball and rather unscientifically, speculate about Lord Kerr’s successor. It is not entirely unreasonable to imagine that it would be a Lord or Sir – for example, every Rector of Imperial has been a Lord or a Sir, all except the first, Henry Bovey (poor Henry).

So that rules out Rihanna or Stephen Fry.

But the Chair can’t be any old Sir or Lord. He or She must be “of international standing with excellent contacts and influence in the higher reaches of government, industry or other stakeholder bodies” – that definitely rules out Rihanna.

Lord Browne would be suitable, if he were so inclined. Having recently completed his review into university funding, perhaps he’s acquired a taste for the higher education sector. And as a former CEO of BP and a crossbench member of the House of Lords he certainly fits the requirements.

It is not entirely clear if Imperial would want such a high-profile figure, however. Of course, this is all mere speculation. We shall see in due course which member of the political elite is chosen. In our heart of hearts, we’ve still got our fingers crossed for Rihanna.