Sir Peter Machin North (born 30 August 1936) is a British academic lawyer who served as Principal of

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

, from 1984 to 2005 and

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford The vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford is the chief executive and leader of the University of Oxford. The following people have been vice-chancellors of the University of Oxford (formally known as The Right Worshipful the Vice-Chancel ...

from 1993 to 1997.

Early life and education

North was born on 30 August 1936 in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

, England. He was educated at the Humberstone Foundation School, a

state school A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, and at Oakham School, a

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

in Oakham, Rutland. From 1954 to 1956, he undertook

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

as a second lieutenant in the Royal Leicestershire Regiment of the British Army. He then studied at

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, University Museum a ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) degree in 1959, a

Bachelor of Civil Law Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL or B.C.L.; ) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge; at Oxford, the BCL contin ...

(BCL) degree in 1960, and a

Doctor of Civil Law Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; ) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher doctorate usually awarded on the basis of except ...

(DCL) degree in 1976.

Career

North began his academic career as a teaching fellow at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

in Chicago, United States, between 1960 and 1961. He then returned to the United Kingdom, and was an assistant lecturer (1961–1962) and then a

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

(1962–1963) at the

University College of Wales, Aberystwyth Aberystwyth University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 stude ...

. He moved to the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

, where he was a lecturer from 1963 to 1965. Returning to his alma mater, he was

tutor Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...

in law (1965–1976) and a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

(1965–1984) of

. In 1984, he was elected Principal of

. Additionally, he twice served as pro-vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford (1988–1993 and 1997–2005). From 1993 to 1997, he served as head of the university as its

vice-chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

. He retired in 2005, and was appointed an honorary fellow of Jesus College.

Reviews

North chaired the Review Body of the Independent Review on Parades and Marches in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, whose final report (published on 29 January 1997 and widely known as "The North Report") led to the establishment of the

Parades Commission The Parades Commission is a quasi-judicial non-departmental public body responsible for placing restrictions on any parades in Northern Ireland it deems contentious or offensive. It is composed of seven members, all of whom are appointed by the ...

which regulates potentially controversial parades in

. North was also chair of a University of Oxford inquiry, established to review the running of the university. The report, published on 29 January 1998 (precisely one year after the Parades and Marches report), was also known as "The North Report". He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

on 10 March 1998. More recently, North's review of the legal alcohol limit for driving was submitted to

Philip Hammond Philip Hammond, Baron Hammond of Runnymede (born 4 December 1955) is a British politician and life peer who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2016 to 2019 and Foreign Secretary from 2014 to 2016, having previously served as Defence ...

, the then

Secretary of State for Transport The secretary of state for transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Departm ...

at the end of May 2010."Bid to cut drink-driving by almost half"
''

Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...

'', 4 June 2010.

References

External links

Peter North Fund
Jesus College,. Oxford

{{DEFAULTSORT:North, Peter 1936 births Living people Academics of Aberystwyth University Academics of the University of Nottingham Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Fellows of Keble College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy English legal scholars British King's Counsel People educated at Oakham School People from Nottingham Principals of Jesus College, Oxford Vice-chancellors of the University of Oxford Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor Lawyers awarded knighthoods 20th-century King's Counsel