View source for Rachel Lomax

{{short description|British civil servant}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{EngvarB|date=January 2020}}
'''Janis Rachel Lomax''' (born 15 July 1945) is a British economist, banker, and former government official who served as [[Deputy Governor of the Bank of England]], sitting on the [[Monetary Policy Committee (United Kingdom)|Monetary Policy Committee]] from 1 July 2003 to 30 June 2008.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rachel Lomax |publisher=Bank of England |url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/people/biographies/lomax.htm |accessdate=3 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080312053746/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/people/biographies/lomax.htm |archivedate=12 March 2008 }}</ref>

==Early life==
Lomax was born in [[Swansea]], Wales.  She was educated at the independent [[Rossall School|Rossall Preparatory School]] and [[Cheltenham Ladies' College]], and graduated from [[Girton College, Cambridge]] with an [[Master of Arts (Oxbridge and Dublin)|MA]] in 1966, before obtaining an [[Master of Science|MSc]] in economics from the [[London School of Economics]] in 1968.<ref name=guardian>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2003/nov/22/money.interviews|title=Interview: Rachel Lomax|first=Charlotte|last=Denny|date=22 November 2003|work=The Guardian}}</ref>

==Career==
After graduating from LSE in 1968, she joined [[HM Treasury]], where she worked on a range of macroeconomic, monetary, and financial issues. She was in succession [[Principal Private Secretary]] to the [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] [[Nigel Lawson]] in 1985–86, then a deputy secretary at the Treasury, and then Deputy [[Chief Economic Adviser]] in 1990–94. In 1994–95, she was head of the Economic and Domestic Secretariat at the [[Cabinet Office]].<ref name=guardian/>

From 1995 to 1996, she was a vice-president of the [[World Bank]] and chief of staff to the [[President of the World Bank]]. From 1996 to 2003 she was in turns [[permanent secretary]] at four government departments.  She was permanent secretary at the [[Welsh Office]] from 1996 to 1999, where she oversaw the setting up of the [[National Assembly for Wales]]. Afterwards, from 1999 to 2002, Lomax was permanent secretary of the [[Department of Social Security]] and then from 2001 its successor, the [[Department for Work and Pensions]]. Then in 2002–2003 Lomax served as Permanent Secretary at the [[Department for Transport]], having moved there with her Secretary of State [[Alistair Darling]] when prime minister [[Tony Blair]] reshuffled his cabinet following the resignation—in highly charged and controversial circumstances—of the [[Secretary of State for Transport]] [[Stephen Byers]].<ref name=guardian/>

From 2003 to 2008 she was a deputy governor at the [[Bank of England]], serving on its [[Monetary Policy Committee (United Kingdom)|Monetary Policy Committee]], where she was "one of the more moderate, centrist figures".<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/2790218/Rachel-Lomax-to-leave-Bank-of-England-sparking-Treasury-row.html|title=Rachel Lomax to leave Bank of England, sparking Treasury row|last=Foxwell|first=Andrew|date=19 May 2008|work=The Telegraph|accessdate=20 February 2016}}</ref> She left "just before the [[Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers|collapse of Lehman Brothers]] in 2008"<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-19644571|title=Rachel Lomax says 'no' to Bank of England boss post|date=18 September 2012|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=20 February 2016}}</ref> reportedly to "pursue other interests".<ref name=":0"/>

In December 2008, she became an independent [[non-executive director]] of [[HSBC Holdings plc|HSBC Holdings]],<ref>[http://www.cbetta.com/director/janis-rachel-lomax Janis Rachel Lomax works at HSBC HOLDINGS PLC since 1 December 2008, currently as a Director], cbetta.com. Retrieved 20 February 2016.</ref> where she is also a member of the audit and risk committees.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hsbc.com/about-hsbc/leadership/jr-lomax|title=About Rachel Lomax|accessdate=20 February 2016|website=HSBC}}</ref> In December 2010 she joined [[BAA Limited|BAA]] (now Heathrow Airport Holdings) as a non-executive director, and she is also a non-executive director of [[Serco]], and a trustee of [[Imperial College London]], and has served as President of the [[Institute of Fiscal Studies]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chathamhouse.org/about/governance/rachel-lomax|title=Rachel Lomax|website=Chatham House}}</ref>

==Personal life==
{{BLP unsourced section|date=April 2016}}
Lomax is on the Board of the [[Royal National Theatre]] and of [[De Montfort University]] in [[Leicester]]. In June 2007 she received an honorary degree from the [[University of Glasgow]].

She married Michael Acworth Lomax in 1967; they divorced in 1990. The couple has two sons and now have 4 granddaughters.{{cn|date=July 2023}}

==Offices held==
{{s-start}}
{{s-gov}}
{{succession box |
  before=|
  title=[[Permanent Secretary]] of the <br /> [[Welsh Office]] |
  years=1996–1999 |
  after=
}}
{{succession box |
  before=[[Ann Bowtell]] |
  title=[[Permanent Secretary]] of the <br /> [[Department of Social Security]] |
  years=1999–2001 |
  after=Department replaced by [[Department for Work and Pensions]]
}}
{{succession box |
  before=none |
  title=[[Permanent Secretary]] of the <br /> [[Department for Work and Pensions]] |
  years=2001–2002 |
  after=[[Richard Mottram|Sir Richard Mottram]]
}}
{{succession box |
  before=[[Richard Mottram|Sir Richard Mottram]] |
  title=[[Permanent Secretary]] of the <br /> [[Department for Transport]] |
  years=2002–2003 |
  after=[[David Rowlands (civil servant)|Sir David Rowlands]]
}}
{{s-end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2004/09/25/ccprof25.xml&sSheet=/money/2004/09/25/ixcoms.html ''Tel'' article September 25 2004]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

{{Monetary Policy Committee (United Kingdom)}}
{{HSBC Group}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lomax, Rachel}}
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Alumni of the London School of Economics]]
[[Category:British economists]]
[[Category:British women bankers]]
[[Category:British women economists]]
[[Category:Civil servants in HM Treasury]]
[[Category:Civil servants in the Cabinet Office]]
[[Category:Deputy governors of the Bank of England]]
[[Category:Fellows of Girton College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:HSBC people]]
[[Category:Members of HM Government Economic Service]]
[[Category:People educated at Cheltenham Ladies' College]]
[[Category:People educated at Rossall School]]
[[Category:People from Swansea]]
[[Category:Permanent under-secretaries of state for Wales]]
[[Category:Permanent under-secretaries of state for social security]]
[[Category:Permanent under-secretaries of state for work and pensions]]
[[Category:Permanent under-secretaries of state for transport, local government and the regions]]
[[Category:Permanent under-secretaries of state for transport]]
[[Category:Private secretaries in the British Civil Service]]
[[Category:Welsh economists]]