Robin Leigh-Pemberton is a central banker of eminence. He joined the board of the National Westminster Bank in 1972, becoming its Deputy Chairman in 1974 and Chairman in 1977. Then came his prestigious assignment as Governor, Bank of England in 1983, a post he held with great distinction. He was a member of the National Economic Development Council and also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and the Royal Society of Arts. He was appointed to the Privy Council in 1987.