Sir James David Bevan KCMG (born 13 July 1959) is the former

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

and a former British

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

Early life

Bevan was born on 13 July 1959. He was educated at the

Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe, is a selective boys' grammar school situated in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. As a state school, it does not charge fees for pupils to attend, but they must pass the 11 plus, an exam that some pr ...

and

Sussex University The University of Sussex is a public research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the South Downs National Park, and provide ...

Career

He joined the British Diplomatic Service in 1982 and served in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

, Brussels, Paris, and Washington, D.C., as well as various posts in the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

. He was a visiting fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard (2006–07) and the Chief Operating Officer of the FCO (2007–11). He was the UK's High Commissioner to India from 2011 to 2015. Bevan became Chief Executive of the

in 2015. The Environment Agency's stated aims include confronting climate change, promoting

sustainable growth Sustainable development is an approach to growth and human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General Assembly (1987)''Report of th ...

, enhancing the nation's resilience to flooding and drought, and protecting the environment. He has been outspoken on the need to tackle the climate emergency and its consequences, and on the benefits for business and wider society of doing so successfully. In a speech in 2020, Bevan called for reforms to inherited EU law, including reform of the

Water Framework Directive The Water Framework Directive (WFD; 2000/60/EC) is an EU directive to establish a framework for the protection of all water bodies (including marine waters up to one nautical mile from shore) by 2015. The WFD establishes a programme and timeta ...

, arguing that its standards were overly strict and did not reflect the actual quality of waterways. Environmental advocates were angered by the proposed reforms, arguing they represented an unacceptable relaxing of standards needed to ensure clean waterways in the country. He said in 2021 during the annual conference of the

Association of British Insurers The Association of British Insurers, or ABI, is a trade association made up of insurance companies in the United Kingdom. History The ABI began in 1985 after several specialised insurance industry trade associations joined to form one trade associ ...

that extreme

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ing in UK indicates urgent need for change if humanity is to survive. He was succeeded by Phillip Duffy in 2023.

Personal life

Sir James is married with three daughters.

Honours

Bevan was appointed CMG in 2006 and knighted KCMG in 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bevan, James David 1959 births Living people Alumni of the University of Sussex People educated at the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe High commissioners of the United Kingdom to India Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George