Sir Michael Charles Scholar, KCB (born 3 January 1942) is a British civil servant and former President of

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pr ...

Personal Life and Education

He was educated at St Olave's Grammar School and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

( BA Classics and Moral Sciences 1964, MA,

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

Research Fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

, Honorary Fellow 1999) and held positions at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

, the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

, and the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_lab ...

. He is the father of Tom Scholar who was Permanent Secretary to the Treasury between 2016 and 2022.

Civil Service Career

He joined

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's Government ...

in 1969 and was appointed Assistant Principal in 1970. He was Private Secretary to the

Chief Secretary to the Treasury The chief secretary to the Treasury is a ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom. The office is the second most senior in the Treasury, after the chancellor of the Exchequer. The office was created in 1961, to share the burde ...

1974-76. From 1979 until 1981 he worked for

Barclays Bank Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

. He was then Private Secretary to the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

(1981–83), Under Secretary HM Treasury (1983–87), and Deputy Secretary (1987–93). He was

Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior civil servant of a department or ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil ...

of the

Welsh Office The Welsh Office ( cy, Swyddfa Gymreig) was a department in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Wales. It was established in April 1965 to execute government policy in Wales, and was headed by the Secretary of State f ...

1993-96 and of the Department of Trade and Industry 1996-2001.

Oxford Master

He served as President of St John's College, Oxford from 1 August 2001 to 2012. He was also a Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Chairman of the Conference of Colleges, and Chairman of the

Oxford University Careers Service Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the U ...

, and a member of the Audit Committee. He is also a non-executive Director of Legal and General Investment Management (Holdings). In 1996 he was appointed an Honorary Fellow of the

University of Wales, Aberystwyth , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

and 14 July 2003 he became an Honorary Fellow of

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the

University of Glamorgan , image_name = University of Glamorgan arms.png , image_size = 220px , caption = University of Glamorgan coat of arms , motto = Success Through Endeavour , established = , closed = , administrative_staff = , chancellor = John Morris ...

in 1999. He was appointed

Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as on ...

in 1991 and advanced to KCB in 1999. Scholar is a keen musician and received the Associateship Diploma of the

Royal College of Organists The Royal College of Organists (RCO) is a charity and membership organisation based in the United Kingdom, with members worldwide. Its role is to promote and advance organ playing and choral music, and it offers music education, training and de ...

in 1965. He was Honorary Secretary of the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...

from 1988-93. His son, Tom, is a civil servant who was appointed Chief of Staff at 10 Downing Street when

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony ...

became

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

. He has since returned to

as a managing director and is the government's representative on the board of Northern Rock following its

nationalization Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to p ...

. On 1 April 2008, Sir Michael became the 3 day-a-week non-executive chairman of the new

UK Statistics Authority cy, Y Bwrdd Ystadegau , seal = , logo = UK Statistics Authority logo.svg , formed = , jurisdiction = United Kingdom , headquarters = 1 Drummond Gate London SW1V 2QQ , employees = 3685 , budget = £256m (2018) , minister1_name = Jeremy ...

(UKSA), through which the National Statistician is accountable to Parliament. The board oversees the

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for ...

, following the "independence" which it obtained from ministers in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. It also has a duty to assess all UK government statistics from other departments. Following

's announcement of new constitutional arrangements for public appointments, Sir Michael became, on 18 July 2007, the first such nominee to appear for vetting before the House of Commons Treasury Committee and to have his nomination subject to confirmation by the House.''"Whitehall veteran in frame for statistics chief post"''
Financial Times, 18 July 2007. Sir Michael officially resigned from the post on 31 March 2012; he was succeeded by Sir Andrew Dilnot CBE.

Sources and Further Information

St John's College, OxfordUniversity of Oxford Annual Review 2000-01

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scholar, Michael 1942 births Living people Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Academics of the University of Leicester Harvard University faculty University of California, Berkeley faculty Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge Fellows of St John's College, Oxford Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Wales Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Trade and Industry Civil servants in HM Treasury Private secretaries in the British Civil Service Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Pro-Vice-Chancellors of the University of Oxford People educated at St Olave's Grammar School Presidents of St John's College, Oxford