Mervyn King, Baron King of Lothbury

Mervyn Allister King, Baron King of Lothbury, KG (born 30 March 1948), is a British economist and public servant, who was Governor of the Bank of England from 2003 to 2013. Emeritus Professor of the London School of Economics and Chairman of the Philharmonia since 2020, Lord King serves as President of Marylebone Cricket Club for 2024/25.

Born in Buckinghamshire, King was educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School, Staffordshire, before going up to read economics at King's College, Cambridge, and Harvard University. Elected a Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge, working as a researcher on the Cambridge Growth Project he then taught at the University of Birmingham, Harvard and MIT, before becoming a Professor of economics at the London School of Economics. He joined the Bank of England in 1990 as a non-executive director, and became the chief economist in 1991. In 1998, he was promoted deputy governor of the Bank and a member of the Group of Thirty.

King was appointed as Governor of the Bank of England in 2003, succeeding Sir Eddie George. Most notably, he oversaw the Bank during the 2008 financial crisis and ensuing Great Recession. King retired from office as Governor in June 2013, being succeeded by Dr Mark Carney. Created a life peer in July 2013, Lord King entered the House of Lords as a crossbencher. From 2014 until 2022 he was professor of economics and law, a joint chair at New York University's Stern School of Business and School of Law.