Appointment of the Queen's Trustee to RBG Kew's Board

The Secretary of State for the Environment is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr George Loudon as the Queen's Trustee to the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Mr Loudon’s appointment will run until October 2014.

The appointment has been made in accordance with the guidance set out by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity to be made public. No political activity has been declared.

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body created under the National Heritage Act 1983, sponsored by Defra and which operates under a Board of Trustees. The Act provides for Her Majesty the Queen to appoint a Trustee from among those on the Board of Trustees. This is an honorary role and unpaid.

The Board of Trustees for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew comprises a Chairman and 11 members. Ten members and the Chair are appointed by the Secretary of State. Her Majesty the Queen appoints her own Trustee on the recommendation of the Secretary of State.

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Notes for Editors

George Loudon is Chairman and Director of a number of investment and other firms including Pall Mall Capital Ltd and Altius Associates Ltd and is a former Director of Midland Bank Plc and former Vice-Chairman of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. He was also a former Director of the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation.

George Loudon is an existing member of the Kew Gardens Board of Trustees and Chairman of the RBG Kew Finance Committee and a member of the Millennium Seed Bank Advisory Board. He is a Senior Trustee who plays an active role in many of Kew’s activities. He has a strong interest in heritage and the arts, and has funded the restoration of some exquisite rare Japanese panels in the Economic Botany Collection. He has recently also become a Trustee for the Kew Foundation.