The Director-General of the British Broadcasting Corporation is chief executive and (from 1994) editor-in-chief of the BBC.
The position was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC and is now appointed by the BBC Trust.
| Director General | Tenure | Time in post |
|---|---|---|
| Sir John Reith, afterwards Lord Reith | 1927–1938 | 11 years |
| Sir Frederick Ogilvie | 1938–1942 | 4 years |
| Sir Cecil Graves and Robert W. Foot | 1942–1943 | 1 year |
| Robert W. Foot | 1943–1944 | 1 year |
| Sir William Haley | 1944–1952 | 8 years |
| Sir Ian Jacob | 1952–1959 | 7 years |
| Sir Hugh Greene | 1960–1969 | 9 years |
| Sir Charles Curran | 1969–1977 | 8 years |
| Sir Ian Trethowan | 1977–1982 | 5 years |
| Alasdair Milne | 1982–1987 | 5 years |
| Sir Michael Checkland | 1987–1992 | 5 years |
| Sir John Birt, latterly Lord Birt | 1992–2000 | 8 years |
| Greg Dyke | 2000–2004 | 4 years |
| Mark Byford (acting) | January – June 2004 | 5 months |
| Mark Thompson | 2004–2012 | 8 years |
| George Entwistle | 2012 | 54 days |
| Tim Davie (acting) | 2012–Present | Still in post |
| Lord Hall of Birkenhead | From 2013 | Takes up the post in March 2013 |
Famous quotes containing the word bbc:
“To err is human, but to really foul things up requires a computer.”
—Anonymous. quoted in “Quote Unquote,” Feb. 22, 1982, BBC Radio 4.