The Council of the National Trust today (Wednesday, 2 July) appointed Simon Jenkins to be the next chairman of the Trust.
The journalist and author will take up the three-year appointment in November after the Annual General Meeting in Liverpool on November 1, on the retirement from the post of Sir William Proby.
A former editor of The Times and the London Evening Standard, Mr Jenkins’s long and distinguished career has been characterised by his championing of conservation causes. He founded the Railway Heritage Trust, was a founder member of SAVE Britain’s Heritage and the Thirties Society, and has long supported conservation issues in London, in particular the protection of the skyline.
Currently a columnist with The Guardian and The Sunday Times, he has written a number of books on the press and politics and had bestsellers with 'England’s Thousand Best Houses' and 'England’s Thousand Best Churches'. He is now writing a book on the buildings of Wales.
Mr Jenkins has long been a public friend and occasional critic of the National Trust and claims to have visited every one of the Trust’s houses in England and Wales. He has served on the Boards of British Rail and London Transport, was deputy chairman of English Heritage and a Millennium Commissioner and today chairs the trust publishing the Pevsner guides.
Dame Fiona Reynolds, the Director General, said:
'This is a terrific appointment for the Trust. Simon is a hugely respected public figure with a deep understanding of what we do and a passion to move it forward. He will be a powerful advocate for our work and we all look forward to welcoming him.'
Simon Jenkins said:
'I have always been an admirer of the National Trust and a member all my life, so it is with a sense of awe and excitement that I take up this post. I have always said that the Trust is one of Britain’s finest organisations – one in which we should all take pride – so it is a great honour to have been appointed.
'Though I have always followed the work of the Trust closely, I now have a great deal to learn over the next four months before I begin, so I won’t be saying anything about the future of the Trust until I have got my feet firmly under the desk.'
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