Brian Unwin
{{Short description|British civil servant and author}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Brian Unwin
|image =
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1935|09|21|df=y}}
|birth_place =|nationality = British
|alma_mater = New College, Oxford, Yale
|occupation = Civil servant, author
}}
Sir James Brian Unwin {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KCB}} (born 21 September 1935) is a former British civil servant and an author. He was chairman of the board of HM Customs and Excise and president of the European Investment Bank. He is also an author of historical non-fiction.
Education and career
James Brian Unwin studied at New College, Oxford and Yale University.
He joined the British Civil Service in 1960, initially working for the Commonwealth Relations Office. From 1968 he was at HM Treasury, seconded from 1981 to 1987 to the Cabinet Office. There he eventually held the post of Deputy Secretary.
He was chairman of the board of HM Customs and Excise (1987–1993) and became president of the European Investment Bank in 1993, a position which he held until his retirement in 1999.{{cite web |url=http://www.debretts.com/people-of-today/profile/6472/(James)-Brian-UNWIN |title=Profile of Brian Unwin |publisher=Debrett |accessdate=24 September 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110222548/http://www.debretts.com/people-of-today/profile/6472/%28James%29-Brian-UNWIN |archivedate=10 November 2014 |df=dmy-all }}
He has served as president of the European Centre for Nature Conservation and as a member of the board of directors of English National Opera.{{cite web |url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=8078887&ticker=DEXB:BB&previousCapId=229512&previousTitle=SCOR%20SE
|title= Brian Unwin |publisher=BusinessWeek |accessdate=24 September 2014}}{{dead link|date=April 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
Authorship
Unwin has published two works of historical non-fiction, both dealing with the Napoleonic era: Terrible Exile: The Last Days of Napoleon on St Helena (2010), which was shortlisted for the Fondation Napoléon History Prize, and A Tale in Two Cities: Fanny Burney and Adèle, Comtesse de Boigne (2014). In 2016, Unwin published a memoir of his time in the civil service titled '
Honours
On 13 June 1986, Unwin was appointed Commander of the Order of the Bath (CB).{{London Gazette|issue=50551|supp=y|page=3|date=13 June 1986}} On 5 June 1990, he was promoted to Knight Commander of the same Order (KCB) with the 1990 Birthday Honours.{{London Gazette|issue=52173|page=3|date=15 June 1990}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3VQsOxR2k8 Brian Unwin speaking during the launch of the book 'The EU Fiscal Crisis: Forcing Eurozone Political Union in 2011?' by Graham Bishop]
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{{s-gov}}
{{s-bef|before=Sir Angus Fraser}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chairman of the
Board of Customs and Excise|years=1987–1993}}
{{s-aft|after=Dame Valerie Strachan}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unwin, Brian}}
Category:British civil servants
Category:British non-fiction writers
Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Category:Presidents of the European Investment Bank
Category:British officials of the European Union
Category:British male non-fiction writers
Category:Civil servants in the Commonwealth Relations Office