# 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 choosing and mentoring a 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 (or up to 14) 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.

## List of Governors of the Bank of England (1694–present)

| No. | Name | In office | Tenure (years) |
| 1 | John Houblon | 1694–1697 | 3 |
| 2 | William Scawen | 1697–1699 | 2 |
| 3 | Nathaniel Tench | 1699–1701 | 2 |
| 4 | John Ward | 1701–1703 | 2 |
| 5 | Abraham Houblon | 1703–1705 | 2 |
| 6 | James Bateman | 1705–1707 | 2 |
| 7 | Francis Eyles | 1707–1709 | 2 |
| 8 | Gilbert Heathcote | 1709–1711 | 2 |
| 9 | Nathaniel Gould | 1711–1713 | 2 |
| 10 | John Rudge | 1713–1715 | 2 |
| 11 | Peter Delmé | 1715–1717 | 2 |
| 12 | Gerard Conyers | 1717–1719 | 2 |
| 13 | John Hanger | 1719–1721 | 2 |
| 14 | Thomas Scawen | 1721–1723 | 2 |
| 15 | Gilbert Heathcote | 1723–1725 | 2 |
| 16 | William Thompson | 1725–1727 | 2 |
| 17 | Humphry Morice | 1727–1729 | 2 |
| 18 | Samuel Holden | 1729–1731 | 2 |
| 19 | Edward Bellamy | 1731–1733 | 2 |
| 20 | Horatio Townshend | 1733–1735 | 2 |
| 21 | Bryan Benson | 1735–1737 | 2 |
| 22 | Thomas Cooke | 1737–1740 | 3 |
| 23 | Delillers Carbonnel | 1740–1741 | 1 |
| 24 | Stamp Brooksbank | 1741–1743 | 2 |
| 25 | William Fawkener | 1743–1745 | 2 |
| 26 | Charles Savage | 1745–1747 | 2 |
| 27 | Benjamin Longuet | 1747–1749 | 2 |
| 28 | William Hunt | 1749–1752 | 3 |
| 29 | Alexander Sheafe | 1752–1754 | 2 |
| 30 | Charles Palmer | 1754–1756 | 2 |
| 31 | Matthews Beachcroft | 1756–1758 | 2 |
| 32 | Merrik Burrell | 1758–1760 | 2 |
| 33 | Bartholomew Burton | 1760–1762 | 2 |
| 34 | Robert Marsh | 1762–1764 | 2 |
| 35 | John Weyland | 1764–1766 | 2 |
| 36 | Matthew Clarmont | 1766–1769 | 3 |
| 37 | William Cooper | 1769–1771 | 2 |
| 38 | Edward Payne | 1771–1773 | 2 |
| 39 | James Sperling | 1773–1775 | 2 |
| 40 | Samuel Beachcroft | 1775–1777 | 2 |
| 41 | Peter Gaussen | 1777–1779 | 2 |
| 42 | Daniel Booth | 1779–1781 | 2 |
| 43 | William Ewer | 1781–1783 | 2 |
| 44 | Richard Neave | 1783–1785 | 2 |
| 45 | George Peters | 1785–1787 | 2 |
| 46 | Edward Darell | 1787–1789 | 2 |
| 47 | Mark Weyland | 1789–1791 | 2 |
| 48 | Samuel Bosanquet | 1791–1793 | 2 |
| 49 | Godfrey Thornton | 1793–1795 | 2 |
| 50 | Daniel Giles | 1795–1797 | 2 |
| 51 | Thomas Raikes | 1797–1799 | 2 |
| 52 | Samuel Thornton | 1799–1801 | 2 |
| 53 | Job Mathew Raikes | 1801–1802 | 1 |
| 54 | Joseph Nutt | 1802–1804 | 2 |
| 55 | Benjamin Winthrop | 1804–1806 | 2 |
| 56 | Beeston Long | 1806–1808 | 2 |
| 57 | John Whitmore | 1808–1810 | 2 |
| 58 | John Pearse | 1810–1812 | 2 |
| 59 | William Manning | 1812–1814 | 2 |
| 60 | William Mellish | 1814–1816 | 2 |
| 61 | Jeremiah Harman | 1816–1818 | 2 |
| 62 | George Dorrien | 1818–1820 | 2 |
| 63 | Charles Pole | 1820–1822 | 2 |
| 64 | John Bowden | 1822–1824 | 2 |
| 65 | Cornelius Buller | 1824–1826 | 2 |
| 66 | John Baker Richards | 1826–1828 | 2 |
| 67 | Samuel Drewe | 1828–1830 | 2 |
| 68 | John Horsley Palmer | 1830–1833 | 3 |
| 69 | Richard Mee Raikes | 1833–1834 | 1 |
| 70 | James Pattison | 1834–1837 | 3 |
| 71 | Timothy Abraham Curtis | 1837–1839 | 2 |
| 72 | John Reid | 1839–1841 | 2 |
| 73 | John Pelly | 1841–1842 | 1 |
| 74 | William Cotton | 1842–1845 | 3 |
| 75 | John Benjamin Heath | 1845–1847 | 2 |
| 76 | William Robinson | April–August 1847 | 0.3 |
| 77 | James Morris | 1847–1849 | 2 |
| 78 | Henry James Prescott | 1849–1851 | 2 |
| 79 | Thomson Hankey | 1851–1853 | 2 |
| 80 | John Hubbard | 1853–1855 | 2 |
| 81 | Thomas Matthias Weguelin | 1855–1857 | 2 |
| 82 | Sheffield Neave | 1857–1859 | 2 |
| 83 | Bonamy Dobrée | 1859–1861 | 2 |
| 84 | Alfred Latham | 1861–1863 | 2 |
| 85 | Kirkman Hodgson | 1863–1865 | 2 |
| 86 | Henry Lancelot Holland | 1865–1867 | 2 |
| 87 | Thomas Newman Hunt | 1867–1869 | 2 |
| 88 | Robert Wigram Crawford | 1869–1871 | 2 |
| 89 | George Lyall | 1871–1873 | 2 |
| 90 | Benjamin Buck Greene | 1873–1875 | 2 |
| 91 | Hucks Gibbs | 1875–1877 | 2 |
| 92 | Edward Howley Palmer | 1877–1879 | 2 |
| 93 | John William Birch | 1879–1881 | 2 |
| 94 | Henry Grenfell | 1881–1883 | 2 |
| 95 | John Saunders Gilliat | 1883–1885 | 2 |
| 96 | James Pattison Currie | 1885–1887 | 2 |
| 97 | Mark Collet | 1887–1889 | 2 |
| 98 | William Lidderdale | 1889–1892 | 3 |
| 99 | David Powell | 1892–1895 | 3 |
| 100 | Albert George Sandeman | 1895–1897 | 2 |
| 101 | Hugh Colin Smith | 1897–1899 | 2 |
| 102 | Samuel Steuart Gladstone | 1899–1901 | 2 |
| 103 | Augustus Prevost | 1901–1903 | 2 |
| 104 | Samuel Morley | 1903–1905 | 2 |
| 105 | Alexander Falconer Wallace | 1905–1907 | 2 |
| 106 | William Middleton Campbell | 1907–1909 | 2 |
| 107 | Reginald Eden Johnston | 1909–1911 | 2 |
| 108 | Alfred Clayton Cole | 1911–1913 | 2 |
| 109 | Walter Cunliffe | 1913–1918 | 5 |
| 110 | Brien Cokayne | 1918–1920 | 2 |
| 111 | Montagu Norman | 1920–1944 | 24 |
| 112 | Thomas Catto | 1944–1949 | 5 |
| 113 | Cameron Cobbold | 1949–1961 | 12 |
| 114 | Rowland Baring | 1961–1966 | 5 |
| 115 | Leslie O'Brien | 1966–1973 | 7 |
| 116 | Gordon Richardson | 1973–1983 | 10 |
| 117 | Robin Leigh-Pemberton | 1983–1993 | 10 |
| 118 | Edward George | 1993–2003 | 10 |
| 119 | Mervyn King | 2003–2013 | 10 |
| 120 | Mark Carney | 2013–2020 | 7 |
| 121 | Andrew Bailey | 2020–present | 5 |