Cecil Graves
Joint Director-General 1942-1943
Captain Sir Cecil George Graves (1892-1957) joined the BBC in 1926 from the military. He was the first Director of the Empire Service and deputised for both his predecessors John Reith and F.W. Ogilvie. He was Reith's choice for Director-General and shared the job with RW Foot when FW Ogilvie resigned.
Graves was responsible for programming while Foot took administrative control. He had often been ill during his BBC career and finally retired in 1943.
Directors-General
-
John Reith
First Director-General, 1922-1938 -
FW Ogilvie
Second Director-General 1938-1942 -
Cecil Graves
Joint Director-General 1942-1943 -
RW Foot
Joint Director-General 1942-1943, Fourth Director-General 1943-1944 -
William Haley
Fifth Director-General 1944-1952 -
Ian Jacob
Sixth Director-General 1952-1959 -
Hugh Carleton-Greene
Seventh Director-General 1960-1969 -
Charles Curran
Eighth Director-General 1969-1977 -
Ian Trethowan
Ninth Director-General 1977-1982 -
Alasdair Milne
Tenth Director-General 1982-1987 -
Michael Checkland
Eleventh Director-General 1987-1992 -
John Birt
Twelfth Director-General 1992-2000 -
Greg Dyke
Thirteenth Director-General 2000-2004 -
Mark Thompson
Fourteenth Director-General 2004-2012 -
George Entwistle
Fifteenth Director-General 2012 -
Tony Hall
Sixteenth Director-General 2013-2020 -
Tim Davie
Seventeenth Director-General 2020-2026 -
Matt Brittin
Eighteenth Director-General 2026-