Board of the British Museum
John Micklethwait has been appointed to the Board of the British Museum.
The Prime Minister has appointed John Micklethwait to the Board of the British Museum for a period of 4 years from 1 August 2011.
Biographical details
John Micklethwait is the editor-in-chief of The Economist. After studying history at Magdalen College, Oxford, he worked as a banker at Chase Manhattan between 1985 and 1987 before joining The Economist as a finance correspondent in 1987.
Since then his roles at The Economist have included setting up the bureau in Los Angeles, where he worked form 1990 to 1993 being the newspaper’s media correspondent’ editing the business section’ running the New York bureau and editing the United States section. John has co-authored 5 books. He was named Editors’ Editor of the Year at the British Society of Magazine Editors 2010 annual awards.
Notes to editors
- The British Museum was founded by Parliament in 1753 with the purpose of enabling citizens, of both Britain and the world, to understand the world. Since its foundation, the museum has been governed by a Board of Trustees who hold for the benefit of humanity, present and future, a collection representative of all the world’s cultures. They are responsible for ensuring that the collection is housed in safety and used for worldwide public benefit. The trustees embody and represent the public interest within the museum.
- The posts are not remunerated. Reasonable expenses can be claimed.
- The appointments have been made in accordance with the OCPA Code of Practice. Appoints are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. John Micklethwait has not undertaken any significant political activity in the UK during the past 5 years.