Sir Kenneth Ernest Berrill , (28 August 1920 – 30 April 2009), was an English economist and public servant.

Early life and education

Born at

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area in the northwest part of the London Borough of Hackney, England. The area is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington (parish), Stoke Newington, the ancient parish. S ...

, London, Berrill was the son Stanley Ernest Berrill (1896–1984), a clerk at a men's outfitters, and Lilian May (née Blakeley). He won a scholarship to

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

to train as a geography teacher, working at Romford greyhound stadium in the evenings. He subsequently transferred to the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

, where he read economics, taking a degree in 1941, then served in the

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is the maintenance arm of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's professional engineers". History Prior t ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He returned to LSE, completing an MA in 1949.Obituary – The Telegraph – 17 May 2009
/ref>

Career

After taking his MA, Berrill was a fellow and bursar at

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The colle ...

, moving in 1962 to King's, where he remained until 1969. At this time, he was developing a reputation as an economic adviser, including for the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

, and for overseas governments. In 1967, he was appointed a special adviser to the Treasury. Throughout his career, he held a number of posts including chief economic adviser to the Treasury in the closing months of Edward Heath's premiership, and head of the Central Policy Review Staff from 1974 to 1980 and the chairmanship of the

Securities and Investments Board The Financial Services Authority (FSA) was a quasi-judicial body accountable for the regulation of the financial services industry in the United Kingdom between 2001 and 2013. It was founded as the Securities and Investments Board (SIB) in 1985 ...

until 1988. He was awarded an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Laws) by the

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

in 1974. In 1950, he was member of an Anglo-Swiss expedition which was the first to climb Abi Gamin.Obituary – The Guardian – 26 June 2009
/ref> In 1981, he became the senior partner of the prominent City stockbroking firm of Vickers da Costa.

Personal life

In 1941, Berrill married Brenda West, with whom he had a son; he married secondly, in 1950, June Phillips, with whom he had a son and a daughter, and married thirdly, in 1977, Jane Marris.

References

External links

Sir Kenneth Berrill
(''Telegraph'' obituary)
Lives remembered: Sir Kenneth Berrill…
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berrill, Kenneth 1920 births 2009 deaths English economists English civil servants Alumni of the London School of Economics Alumni of University College London Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of King's College, Cambridge Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath English mountain climbers Fellows of King's College London British Army personnel of World War II People from Stoke Newington Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers soldiers