Marmaduke Hussey, Baron Hussey of North Bradley
Marmaduke James Hussey, Baron Hussey of North Bradley, known as Duke Hussey, was Chairman of the Board of Governors of the BBC from 1986 to 1996, serving two terms in that role.
Early life
The son of the athlete and colonial administrator Eric Hussey and his wife, Christine Elizabeth Morley, Marmaduke Hussey was educated at Rugby School and Trinity College, Oxford. He served in the Grenadier Guards in the Second World War and was severely injured and captured at Anzio, having to have a leg amputated while a prisoner-of-war, which resulted in his repatriation.Career
After returning to civilian life, Hussey joined Associated Newspapers, where he had a long career, culminating in being appointed managing director. He subsequently joined Times Newspapers as chief executive and managing director, a post he held from 1971 to 1980.In 1986 he was appointed as Chairman of the BBC, upon the death of Stuart Young, thanks in part to his close connections to the ruling Conservatives.
Within three months of joining the BBC, Hussey had forced the resignation of the Director-General, Alasdair Milne, following a series of rows in recent years between the BBC and the Conservative government. Michael Checkland served in the position for the next five years, and in 1992, Hussey appointed John Birt as Director-General but fell out with him over his management style and Panorama's controversial interview with Diana, Princess of Wales in 1995, later commenting that Birt had been his "greatest mistake".
Hussey retired from the BBC in 1996, and on 11 September 1996 was made a life peer as Baron Hussey of North Bradley in the County of Wiltshire, taking a seat in the House of Lords.
Hussey gave up several boardroom appointments when he joined the BBC, but he remained chairman of the board of the Royal Marsden Hospital until 1998.
Personal life and death
On 25 April 1959, Hussey married Lady Susan Waldegrave, youngest daughter of the 12th Earl Waldegrave. She was a Woman of the Bedchamber to Elizabeth II and is a godmother to William, Prince of Wales. They had two children: James Arthur and Katharine Elizabeth. His daughter Katharine married Sir Francis Brooke Bt. and followed her mother into royal service, as one of the official Queen's Companions to Queen Camilla.Hussey of North Bradley died aged 83, on 27 December 2006.