Minister Gregory Campbell MP, MLA has announced the reconstitution of the Board of Trustees of National Museums Northern Ireland with effect from 1 July 2008.
Welcoming the reconstitution of the Board the Minister said: “I am confident that the new Board has the right mixture of experience and skills to address the challenges facing the museums sector and to take forward the major capital programme including the refurbishment and upgrade of the Ulster Museum which will significantly enhance the museums provision in Northern Ireland.”
The current Chair Margaret Elliott has agreed to extend her tenure as Chair for the period 1 July 2008 to 31 December 2008 to facilitate an extension of the competition to select a new Chair.
The following Members have been re-appointed for a period of four years with effect from 1 July 2008:
Miss Linda Beers
LT Colonel (Rtd) Reginald Harvey Bicker
Mr Dan Harvey
Dame Geraldine Keegan
Mrs Wendy Osborne
Mr Thomas Shaw
Dr Alastair Walker
Following an open competition for the appointment of new members the following have been appointed with effect from 1 July 2008 for a period of five years:
Mr James Neil Bodger
Mr Pat Carvill
Mr Joe Kelly
Dr John Richard Browne McMinn
Mr John David William Moore
Ms Margaret Anne Peoples
Dr Brian Scott
NOTES TO EDITORS:
National Museums Northern Ireland was established under the Museums and Galleries (Northern Ireland) Order on 1 April 1998.
The organisation's corporate title is 'National Museums Northern Ireland', and the Board is referred to as 'The Board of National Museums Northern Ireland’.
National Museums Northern Ireland includes the Ulster Museum, the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, the Ulster American Folk Park and Armagh County Museum. W5 at Odyssey is a wholly owned subsidiary of National Museums Northern Ireland.
National Museums Northern Ireland is managed by a Board of up to fifteen members including a Chair.
The Chair attracts a remuneration of £10,000 pa plus expenses. Members attract no remuneration and receive expenses only.
The appointments process was carried out in accordance with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments Code of Practice.
Biographical details of the new Board
MRS MARGARET ELLIOTT: lives in Helens Bay. Her appointment as Chair of the Board of Trustees of National Museums Northern Ireland has been extended for a period of six months from 1 July 2008 to 31 December 2008 to facilitate an extension of the competition to select a new Chair. An annual honorarium of £10,000 will be payable.
Mrs Elliott is a solicitor and a senior partner in the Elliott Trainor Partnership Solicitors, Newry with management responsibility for finance, personnel and clients. She is a Governor of the Irish Times Trust and a Member of the Disciplinary Tribunal of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland. Mrs Elliott is a former Civil Service Commissioner and a former Member of the Fair Employment Commission. She is also a former President of the Law Society of Northern Ireland.
MISS LINDA BEERS: has been re-appointed as a Member of the Board of Trustees of National Museums Northern Ireland for a period of four years from 1 July 2008.
She lives in Saintfield and has a particular interest in local history. She established Inform Communications, a PR/Communications consultancy in 1984.
LT COLONEL (RTD) REGINALD HARVEY BICKER OBE TD: has been re-appointed as a Member of the Board of Trustees of National Museums Northern Ireland for a period of four years from 1 July 2008.
He is chairman of the Litton Group of companies. He has a specific interest in military history and is a Director of the Military Heritage of Ireland Trust and a Trustee of the Irish National War Memorial Islandbridge, Dublin. In September 2004 he was appointed to the Irish Council of State. He is a former member of the Police Authority for Northern Ireland. He is also a past Chairman of Down District Council and a past Chairman of its Museum Committee. He resides in Spa.
He retired from elected office in September 2004.
Mr DAN HARVEY: has been re-appointed as a Member of the Board of Trustees of National Museums Northern Ireland for a period of four years from 1 July 2008.
He is a former Managing Director of AIB Group (UK) Plc and was Chairman from 1996-1998 of the Museums Merger Steering Group, the body which brought about the creation of MAGNI. Mr Harvey lives in Belfast.
DAME GERALDINE KEEGAN: has been re-appointed as a Member of Board of Trustees of National Museums Northern Ireland for a period of four years from 1 July 2008.
She is currently a Trustee of the Scotch Irish Trust, a Board Member of the Centre for Migration Studies, a Board Member the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools and a Board Member of the North West Institute.
Geraldine lives in Londonderry and was Headmistress of St Mary’s College until her retirement in 2006.
MRS WENDY OSBORNE: has been re-appointed as a Member of the Board of Trustees of National Museums Northern Ireland for a period of four years from 1 July 2008.
She is a Director of the Volunteer Development Agency. She is Chair of Lecale Historical Society and a Member of the Friends of Down County Museum through which she maintains her interest in heritage. She is a Regional Committee Member of the National Trust for Northern Ireland. Wendy lives in Strangford.
MR TOM SHAW: has been re-appointed as a Member of the Board of Trustees of National Museums Northern Ireland for a period of four years from 1 July 2008.
He is the former Chief Inspector of the Education and Training Inspectorate and lives in Killinchy. He has a lifelong interest in the environment, both natural and man-made with qualifications in geography and geology as well as education.
DR ALASTAIR WALKER: has been re-appointed as a Member of the Board of Trustees of National Museums Northern Ireland for a period of four years from 1 July 2008.
He lives in Bangor and has a particular interest in maritime heritage. He retired in 2004 as Head of Education Services at the Council for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment. Dr Walker has been the Chairman of the Board of W5 since 2006 and is a member of the Society for Nautical Research.
Mr NEIL BODGER has been appointed as a Member of Board of Trustees of National Museums Northern Ireland for a period of five years from
1 July 2008.
He has 40 years experience in business, including retail, commerce, international and national marketing and company finance. Neil is multi-lingual and speaks 6 European languages. Currently he is a Market Intelligence Manager with BT NI. Prior to coming to Northern Ireland in 1994, he worked as a Management and International Business Consultant for a German company. He was a Member of the governing body of Newry and Kilkeel Institute from 2002 to 2007, when he was appointed a Board Member of the new Southern Regional College. Neil has been a Member of Stranmillis University College governing body since 2006 and Vice-Chair of St Louis Grammar School in Kilkeel and Member and Chair of the Southern Education and Library Board Appeals Tribunal since 1998. He lives in Dromore, Co. Down.
MR PAT CARVILL: has been appointed as a Member of the Board of Trustees of National Museums Northern Ireland for a period of five years from 1 July 2008.
He lives in Bangor, Co Down. He retired in 2003 from the position of Permanent Secretary of the Department of Finance and Personnel. He is also a former Permanent Secretary of the Department of Education. Mr Carvill has extensive experience of the public sector and particularly its relationship with Non-Departmental Public Bodies.
He was appointed as a non-executive director of the NI Guardian Ad Litem Agency (NIGALA) for four years, with effect from 1 August 2005. He is Chair of the Northern Ireland Clinical Excellence Awards Committee (NICEAC). He is also one of the Commissioners appointed to discharge the responsibilities of the South Eastern Education and Library Board in 2006 when the Board declined to implement measures to balance their finances.
Mr JOE KELLY: has been appointed as a Member of the Board of Trustees of National Museums Northern Ireland for a period of five years from 1 July 2008.
He lives in Edenderry, Belfast. He is the Director of Craft Northern Ireland. Previously, he worked at the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, as Arts Development Officer for Youth Arts and Education, and was responsible for the delivery of Creative Youth Partnerships, a major regional initiative bringing together schools and youth centres with artists and arts organizations. He is currently Chair of Young at Art / Belfast Children’s Festival and a Board Member of Reply Theatre Company.
He is a graduate of Queens University, Belfast, and the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, England.
DR RICHARD McMINN OBE: has been appointed as a Member of the Board of Trustees of National Museums Northern Ireland for a period of five years from 1 July 2008.
Dr McMinn was appointed Principal of Stranmillis University College in 1993, having previously been Senior Tutor with responsibility for Professional Support and Head of History. He was an Honorary Professor of Queens University Belfast from 1999 to 2007. He is a specialist in modern Irish history and has produced numerous history publications widely used in primary and post-primary schools. He has served on a number of committees, including the Northern Ireland Teacher Education Committee (NITEC) and the Committee for Early Professional Development (CEPD). He was on the Board of Governors of Stranmillis University College from 1993 to 2007, when he retired as Principal of the College. He was awarded an OBE in 2007 for services to Higher Education.
Mr DAVID MOORE: has been appointed as a Member of the Board of Trustees of National Museums Northern Ireland for a period of five years from 1 July 2008.
He lives in Newtownstewart. He is an early-retired lecturer in Law at Queen's University Belfast.
He is currently Presiding Lay Magistrate for Northern Ireland, Chairman of the Board, BIH Housing Association Ltd, Member of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel (NI), Member of the Rent Assessment Panel for NI and a General Commissioner of Income Tax. He is former Chairman of the Northern Ireland Water Council and a former member of the General Consumer Council of Northern Ireland.
Ms ANNE PEOPLES: has been appointed as a Member of the Board of Trustees of National Museums Northern Ireland for a period of five years from 1 July 2008.
She has recently retired from her position as Assistant Chief Librarian with the Western Education and Library Board in Northern Ireland. She contributed significantly to the Electronic Libraries for Northern Ireland project, which has led to the implementation of a single ICT platform for the public library service across Northern Ireland and to other joint working and partnership initiatives. She continues to contribute to professional education and development across the Library and Information sector in Northern Ireland.
She is currently a Member of the Management Committee for the Centre of Migration Studies. Anne was awarded Honorary Fellowship of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) in 2007. She holds no previous or current Public Appointments. Anne lives in Londonderry.
DR BRIAN SCOTT: has been appointed as a Member of the Board of Trustees of National Museums Northern Ireland for a period of five years from 1 July 2008.
He is a Member of the Board of the Lloyds-TSB Bank Foundation for Northern Ireland and a Member of the Advisory Board of the UNESCO Centre for International Development at the University of Ulster. He is also currently Treasurer at the John Hewitt Society.
He was appointed Chief Executive of Oxfam Ireland upon its de-merger from Oxfam UK and Ireland in 1998 and held the position until his retirement on 13 June 2008. He was Managing Director of the Northern Salmon Company Ltd from 1987 to 1996. He previously worked for 8 years in education and educational publishing in Africa, Mexico, and UK, followed by 25 years in agribusiness development in Ireland, USA, and developing countries. He is a graduate of Harvard Business School, where he also worked as a research associate. Brian lives in Belfast.
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