Director-General of the BBC

Director-General of the BBC
Incumbent
Rhodri Talfan Davies (interim)
since 3 April 2026
Member ofBBC Board
Executive Committee
Reports toBBC Board
Chairman of the BBC
AppointerBBC Board
PrecursorGeneral manager of the BBC (1922–1923)
Managing director of the BBC (1923–1927)
Formation1927
First holderSir John Reith
Salary£450,000

The director-general of the British Broadcasting Corporation is chief executive and (from 1994) editor-in-chief of the BBC.

The post-holder was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC (for the period 1927 to 2007) and then the BBC Trust (from 2007 to 2017). Since 2017 the director-general has been appointed by the BBC Board.

To date, 17 individuals have been appointed director-general, plus an additional two who were appointed in an acting capacity only. The current director-general is Tim Davie, who succeeded Tony Hall on 1 September 2020.[1] On 9 November, his forthcoming resignation was announced.[2] Davie is set to step down on 2 April, before being replaced by Matt Brittin on 18 May.[3]

List of directors-general

No. Image Director-General Term of office Length of term Honour(s)
1 Sir John Reith
(1889–1971) 		1 January 1927 30 June 1938 11 years, 181 days Knighted 1 January 1927, at the start of his term as DG.[4] Peerage 21 October 1940, after stepping down as DG.[5] Appointed to the Order of the Thistle 18 February 1969.[6]
2 Sir Frederick Ogilvie
(1893–1949) 		19 July 1938 26 January 1942 3 years, 192 days Knighted 10 June 1942, after stepping down as DG
3 Sir Cecil Graves (1892–1957)[a] 26 January 1942 6 September 1943 1 year, 224 days Knighted 1939, before becoming DG
3–4 Robert Foot
(1889–1973)[b] 		26 January 1942 31 March 1944 2 years, 66 days
5 Sir William Haley
(1901–1987) 		1944 1952 7–8 years Knighted 1946, during his term as DG
6 Sir Ian Jacob
(1899–1993) 		1952 1959 6–7 years Knighted 1 January 1960, after stepping down as DG
7 Sir Hugh Greene
(1910–1987) 		1960 1969 8–9 years Knighted 1964, during his term as DG
8 Sir Charles Curran
(1921–1980) 		1969 1977 7–8 years Knighted 1 January 1974, during his term as DG
9 Sir Ian Trethowan
(1922–1990) 		1977 1982 4–5 years Knighted 1980, during his term as DG
10 Alasdair Milne
(1930–2013) 		1982 January 1987[c] 4–5 years
11 Sir Michael Checkland
(born 1936) 		1987 1992 4–5 years
12 Sir John Birt
(born 1944) 		1992 2000 7–8 years Knighted 27 October 1998[8] during his term as DG.
13 Greg Dyke
(born 1947) 		2000 29 January 2004 3–4 years
– Mark Byford[d]
(born 1958) 		January 2004 June 2004 4–5 months
14 Mark Thompson
(born 1957) 		22 June 2004 17 September 2012 8 years, 88 days Knighted 17 June 2023, after stepping down as DG.
15 George Entwistle
(born 1962) 		17 September 2012 10 November 2012 55 days
– Tim Davie[d]
(born 1967) 		11 November 2012 1 April 2013 142 days
16 Tony Hall, Baron Hall of Birkenhead
(born 1951) 		2 April 2013 31 August 2020[9][10] 7 years, 152 days Life peerage 19 March 2010, before appointment as DG.
17 Tim Davie
(born 1967) 		1 September 2020[1] 2 April 2026[11] 5 years, 214 days
– Rhodri Talfan Davies[d]
(born 1971) 		3 April 2026[11] 17 May 2026 (expected)[3] 26 days
18 Matt Brittin
(born 1968) 		18 May 2026 (expected)

Italics indicate that the individual was temporarily appointed as acting director-general.[12]

  1. ^ Served concurrently with Foot.
  2. ^ Served concurrently with Graves until 6 September 1943.
  3. ^ Ordered to resign by BBC Governors.[7]
  4. ^ a b c Temporarily appointed as acting director-general

References

  1. ^ a b "Tim Davie: BBC executive named director general". 5 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  2. ^ "BBC Director-General Tim Davie to step down". Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Matt Brittin appointed new BBC Director-General". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
  4. ^ "London Gazette, 1 January 1927".
  5. ^ "London Gazette, 29 October 1940".
  6. ^ "No. 44794". The London Gazette. 21 February 1969. p. 1995.
  7. ^ "Head of BBC Quits, Ending Stormy Tenure". The New York Times. AP. 30 January 1987. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Honours and Awards". London Gazette. 14 September 1999.
  9. ^ Plunkett, John (25 January 2013). "BBC director general Lord Hall to take charge on 2 April". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  10. ^ "Lord Hall to step down as BBC's director general". BBC News. 21 January 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  11. ^ a b "BBC confirms arrangements for Interim Director-General". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  12. ^ "Directors-General". bbc.com. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
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