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Robin Leigh-Pemberton, Baron Kingsdown

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The Right Honourable
The Lord Kingsdown
KG JP PC
Lord Kingsdown in the robes of a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter
Governor of the Bank of England
In office
1 July 1983 – 30 June 1993
Appointed byNigel Lawson
Preceded byGordon Richardson
Succeeded byEdward George
Personal details
Born(1927-01-05)5 January 1927
Died24 November 2013(2013-11-24) (aged 86)
NationalityBritish
ChildrenHon. James Leigh-Pemberton
Alma materTrinity College, Oxford
ProfessionEconomist
Military career
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service / branch British Army
Years of service1945–1948
UnitGrenadier Guards

Robert "Robin" Leigh-Pemberton, Baron Kingsdown, KG JP PC (5 January 1927 – 24 November 2013) was a British peer and banker, who served as Governor of the Bank of England from 1983 to 1993.[1]

Education and career

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Leigh-Pemberton was educated at St Peter's Court, then at Eton College.[2] He attended Trinity College, Oxford,[2] graduating in 1950. In 1954, he was called to the Bar, and he practised law for several years before returning to Kent to manage the family estate of Torry Hill.[3] He served as a Justice of the Peace and as Leader of Kent County Council.[4] He eventually became chairman of the National Westminster Bank, then Governor of the Bank of England from 1983 until 1993.[5]

Honours

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He was appointed to the Privy Council in 1987,[6] and created a life peer on 14 July 1993, as Baron Kingsdown, of Pemberton in the County of Lancashire.[7] He became a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter in 1994,[8] and was also the Lord Lieutenant of Kent from 1982 to 2002. Between 1979 and 1992, he served as Honorary Colonel of the Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry and between 1977 and 1984 he served as Pro Chancellor of the University of Kent.[2] He also served on the board of directors of the Bank of International Settlements

Personal life

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His family has a long association with Kingsdown and Torry Hill, near Doddington, Kent, where he rebuilt the family mansion in the 1960s. It features a striking view north towards the Isle of Sheppey, the Swale and the Thames estuary. On the grounds of the estate, there is also what is believed to be the only Eton Fives court attached to a private dwelling; it was built in 1925. Lord Kingsdown's father also built a private miniature railway in the 1930s. This still runs for several miles on his estate.

One of his sons, James Leigh-Pemberton, continues the family's association with the Duchy of Cornwall (beginning with its Chancellor, the 1st Baron Kingsdown) as Receiver-General. His brother Jeremy Leigh-Pemberton is a Deputy Lieutenant of Kent and is the parish chairman for the neighbouring parish of Wormshill.

His younger brother is the opera singer Nigel Douglas.[citation needed]

Arms

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Coat of arms of Robin Leigh-Pemberton, Baron Kingsdown, KG, PC
Coronet
Coronet of a Baron
Crest
1st: A Dragon’s Head Ermine, erased Gules, ducally gorged Or, and transfixed by an Arrow fesswise proper (Pemberton).

2nd: A Demi-Lion rampant Gules, charged on the shoulder with an Ermine Spot and holding between the paws a Lozenge Argent, thereon a Rose Gules, barbed and seeded proper (Leigh).

Escutcheon
Quarterly: 1st & 4th, Ermine, an Estoile Or, between three Buckets Sable, hoops and handles Gold (Pemberton); 2nd & 3rd, Gules, a Cross engrailed Argent, between four Lozenges Ermine (Leigh).
Supporters
Dexter: a Wyvern Ermine, ducally gorged Or, charged on the shoulder with an Estoile Gules.

Sinister: a Lion Gules, charged on the shoulder with a Lozenge Argent, thereon an Ermine Spot Gules.

Motto
UT TIBI SIC ALTERI (Do to others as you would to yourself)
Orders
Order of the Garter (Appointed 1994)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "BBC News - Former Bank of England governor Lord Kingsdown dies". BBC.co.uk. 25 November 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  2. ^ a b c The International Who's Who 2004. Routledge. 2003. p. 892. ISBN 1-85743-217-7.
  3. ^ Brewerton, David (25 November 2013). "Lord Kingsdown obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  4. ^ Wright, Major. "The Rt Hon the Lord Kingsdown KGn". The Guards Magazine. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  5. ^ Clark, Nick (8 July 2008). "Credit Suisse gives top UK job to Leigh-Pemberton". The Independent. London. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  6. ^ "No. 50764". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1986. p. 1.
  7. ^ "No. 53375". The London Gazette. 19 July 1993. p. 12085.
  8. ^ "No. 53654". The London Gazette. 26 April 1994. p. 6173.
Government offices
Preceded by Governor of the Bank of England
1983–1993 		Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Kent
1982–2002 		Succeeded by
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