Governance
The ESU is a voluntary organisation with a clear structure. The ESU is a charity registered in the UK under number 273136. It was established by Royal Charter with Her Majesty The Queen as patron and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh as President.
The day to day administration of its headquarters, Dartmouth House, and its many activities internationally are led by the Director-General Mr Mike Lake and the staff at Dartmouth House.
The Board of Governors meets three times a year and is chaired by the The Rt Hon the Lord Hunt of Wirral MBE PC. The ESU’s Policy and Resources committee meets monthly.
A lawyer and former Government Minister, Lord Hunt’s association with the English-Speaking Union stretches back more than forty years. As a student studying law at Bristol University in 1965, he partnered Bob Marshall-Andrews (now MP) to win the Observer Mace which, since 1995, has been administered by the ESU and is known as the John Smith Memorial Mace. Lord Hunt was subsequently selected, in 1967, to take part in a debate tour of the United States.Recognising the power of speech, his passion for argument and dispute resolution led Lord Hunt into a career in the legal profession. An ESU member since 1976, he was invited to become an ESU Governor in 1998. His first decision was to support the Board to borrow £1million for the refurbishment of Dartmouth House. Two years later he became Deputy Chairman and then in 2005 was elected Chairman.
Office holders
The following are the office holders of the ESU:
Patron
Her Majesty The Queen
President
HRH The Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh KG KT
[read a welcome message from our President]
Chairman
The Rt Hon the Lord Hunt of Wirral MBE PC*
Deputy Chairmen
Edward Gould*
Patron
Her Majesty The Queen
President
HRH The Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh KG KT
[read a welcome message from our President]
Chairman
The Rt Hon the Lord Hunt of Wirral MBE PC*
Deputy Chairmen
Edward Gould*
Dame Mary Richardson DBE*
Honorary Treasurer
The Hon Christopher McLaren*
Honorary Treasurer
The Hon Christopher McLaren*
Director-General (ex officio)
Mike Lake CBE*
Board of Governors
Board of Governors
Paul Boateng
Lady Boyd
David Carter
Saroj Chakravarty
Roderick Chamberlain
Sir Richard Dearlove
Jonathan Dye
Alexander Finnis
Cheryl Gillan MP
Dr Elizabeth Hallam-Smith
Andrew Hay
Jennifer Hibbert
Steven Hodkinson
Steven Isserlis CBE
Richard Kaye
Colin McCorquodale
Bilal Mahmood
Brian Marsh OBE
Sir Christopher Meyer KCMG
Andrew Mitchell MP
Richard Oldham*
Jeanne Pumfrey
Margaret Rudland
Baroness Elizabeth Symons
The Lord Watson of Richmond CBE
Anthony Westnedge OBE
Co-opted
Kirsty McNeill
Holly Shakespeare
David Thomas
*Members of the Policy and Resources Committee
Policy & Resources Committee