PRESS RELEASE : New Chair appointed to The Royal Parks Board [May 2024]
The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 24 May 2024.
The Secretary of State has appointed Dame Mary Archer as Chair of The Royal Parks Board from 24 July 2024 until 23 July 2028.
Dame Mary Archer
Appointed for a 4 year term commencing 24 July 2024.
Dame Mary Archer is Chancellor of the University of Buckingham and a scientist by background. Her research interests lay in non-thermal methods of solar energy conversion to power and fuels, and she was the founder chair of the National Energy Foundation. She is a Companion of the Energy Institute and was awarded the Institute’s Melchett Medal in 2002 and the Eva Philbin award of the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland in 2007. She recently joined the Board of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero as a non-executive director.
Dame Mary chaired the Board of Trustees of the Science Museum Group from 2015–2023. She has had a long association with the NHS, sitting on the board of Cambridge University Hospitals from 1993 and chairing it from 2002 to 2012. In 2012, she was appointed DBE for services to the NHS.
Among other commitments, Dame Mary is a Liveryman of the Salters’ Company and the incoming chair of the Salters’ Institute of Industrial Chemistry. She holds honorary DSc degrees from the University of Hertfordshire, Imperial College London and the University of Bradford.
Remuneration and Governance Code
The Chair of The Royal Parks Board is not remunerated. This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments.
The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Dame Mary Archer has not declared any significant political activity. This appointment is subject to confirmation by the new administration as set out in the cabinet office pre-election guidance.
