This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
National Galleries of Scotland
20/02/2007
Patricia Ferguson, the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, today announced the appointments of Mr Richard Burns, and Mr James Knox to the National Galleries of Scotland.
Richard Burns has worked as the head of the pension fund department at Baillie Gifford. From 1999 he was Joint Senior Partner of the firm until he retired earlier this year. Since 1999 he has been a Governor of Donaldson's College, a school for children with hearing and speech and language difficulties and had been a member of the Court of the University of Dundee since August 2006. He holds no other Ministerial appointment.
James Knox is currently managing director of The Art Newspaper, a leading international publication about the art world with offices in London and New York. He is also an established author and a director of a writers' charity. He holds no other ministerial appointment.
The appointments will be for three years and will run from January 23, 2007 until December 31, 2009.
The posts are part-time and are not remunerated. Board members are expected to prepare for and attend approximately six Board meetings a year and may be involved in additional meetings and events.
The National Galleries of Scotland is a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) with a Board appointed by, and accountable to, Scottish Ministers. The National Heritage (Scotland) Act 1985 provides for Scottish Ministers to appoint members to the Board of Trustees.
Ministerial public appointments are made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland's Code of Practice.
All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees' political activity (if there is any to be declared) to be made public. Within the last five years, neither Mr Burns nor Mr Knox has been involved in any political activity.