Chris Ham

{{short description|British political scientist}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox person

| honorific_prefix = Sir

| name = Chris Ham

| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|CBE|DL}}

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| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1951|05|15|df=y}}

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| nationality = British

| other_names = Political scientist (public health policy)

| occupation = Chief executive of the King's Fund

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Sir Chris Ham {{post-nominals|country=GBR|CBE|DL}} (born 15 May 1951),{{cite web|title=Birthday's today|url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/archive/2013-5-15.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130515061228/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/archive/2013-5-15.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= 15 May 2013 |newspaper=The Telegraph|accessdate=12 May 2014|date=15 May 2013|quote=Prof Chris Ham, Chief Executive, The King's Fund, 62 }} is a health policy academic who started life as a political scientist. He was chief executive of the King's Fund from 2010 to 2018. He was professor of health policy and management at University of Birmingham's health services management centre from 1992 to 2010. He was seconded to the Department of Health where he was Director of the Strategy Unit working with Alan Milburn and John Reid until 2004.{{cite web|title=Chris Ham (1992-2010)|url=http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/social-policy/departments/health-services-management-centre/events/fortieth-celebrations/ham-chris.aspx|publisher=University of Birmingham|accessdate=19 April 2014}}

He was said to be "unrivalled in his ability to distil and synthesise complex policy developments and present them in a clear and digestible manner for non-specialists" in 1999.{{cite news|title=Distilled, aged and distinctive|url=http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/distilled-aged-and-distinctive/31460.article#.UuQ-0bTLdEY|accessdate=25 January 2014|newspaper=Health Service Journal|date=11 November 1999}} He is frequently called upon to chair large conferences on health policy in England.

He was said by the Health Service Journal to be the 38th most powerful person in the English NHS in December 2013.{{cite news|title=HSJ100 2013 The annual list of the most influential people in health|url=http://www.hsj.co.uk/leadership/hsj-100/|accessdate=14 December 2013|newspaper=Health Service Journal|date=11 December 2013}}

He was appointed CBE in 2004 and in the June 2018 Birthday Honours he was knighted for his services.

He was appointed as independent chair of the Coventry and Warwickshire sustainability and transformation partnership in January 2019.{{cite news |title=King's Fund chief to chair STP |url=https://www.hsj.co.uk/workforce/kings-fund-chief-to-chair-stp-/7024040.article |accessdate=22 January 2019 |newspaper=Health Service Journal |date=14 December 2018}} He is also Co-Chair of the NHS Assembly and a non-executive director of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust.{{cite news |title=Posts by Professor Sir Chris Ham |url=https://www.england.nhs.uk/author/chris-ham/ |access-date=11 November 2022 |publisher=NHS England |date=2022}}