Alexander Leitch, Baron Leitch
Encyclopedia
Alexander Park Leitch, Baron Leitch (b. Fife
, Scotland
20 October 1947) is a British
Labour
peer
and a former Chairman and Chief Executive insurance group Zurich
's British operations. He is currently a Non-Executive Director of a range of companies including Lloyds TSB
and insurance company Paternoster. Lord Leitch is also Chairman of Bupa
, Scottish Widows and Intrinsic Financial Services.
coal miner
and endured a childhood in near poverty following the Second World War. He was left paralysed down one side of his body during his 30s due to a lesion on his brain
and thus "learned from personal experience the value of life insurance." He was educated at Dunfermline
High School and was offered a place at university two years early, at just 16 years of age. However, he turned his place down and instead headed to London
to work in the IT
department of an insurance company. He remained in the insurance
industry throughout his career, rising to become Chief Executive of Allied Dunbar before it was eventually merged with Zurich Financial Services
in 1998. He was then appointed Chief Executive of Zurich Financial Services UK and retired in 2004.
Leitch became a life peer
as Baron Leitch, of Oakley in Fife on 7 June 2004. In 2000, prior to becoming a peer, Leitch headed the New Deal scheme which aimed to encourage companies to take on school leavers. Having demonstrated his commitment to public service, he became Chairman of the National Employment Panel in 2004 and also led the Leitch Review of Skills which was published on 5 December 2006. The objective of the review was "to identify the UK's optimal skills mix for 2020 to maximise economic growth, productivity and social justice, set out the balance of responsibility for achieving that skills profile and consider the policy framework required to support it."
's extra-marital affairs. It was revealed by the British
press that Leitch had had a relationship, during 1999, with Kimberley Quinn, the publisher who later had an affair with David Blunkett
.
and it is suspected that he helped Blair to gain work with Zurich
following his retirement as Prime Minister
. He became one of Blair's "most trusted business advisers" during his tenure at No. 10
. Leitch is also described as a "confidante" of Gordon Brown
.
, London and has a home in Edinburgh
.
.
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
20 October 1947) is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
peer
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
and a former Chairman and Chief Executive insurance group Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
's British operations. He is currently a Non-Executive Director of a range of companies including Lloyds TSB
Lloyds TSB
Lloyds TSB Bank Plc is a retail bank in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1995 by the merger of Lloyds Bank, established in Birmingham, England in 1765 and traditionally considered one of the Big Four clearing banks, with the TSB Group which traces its origins to 1810...
and insurance company Paternoster. Lord Leitch is also Chairman of Bupa
Bupa
Bupa is a large British healthcare organisation, with bases on three continents and more than ten million customers in over 200 countries. It is a private healthcare company, in direct contrast to the UK's National Health Services, which are tax-funded healthcare systems and do not require private...
, Scottish Widows and Intrinsic Financial Services.
Biography
Leitch is the son of a ScottishScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
coal miner
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
and endured a childhood in near poverty following the Second World War. He was left paralysed down one side of his body during his 30s due to a lesion on his brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
and thus "learned from personal experience the value of life insurance." He was educated at Dunfermline
Dunfermline
Dunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
High School and was offered a place at university two years early, at just 16 years of age. However, he turned his place down and instead headed to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to work in the IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
department of an insurance company. He remained in the insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
industry throughout his career, rising to become Chief Executive of Allied Dunbar before it was eventually merged with Zurich Financial Services
Zurich Financial Services
Zurich Financial Services AG is a major financial services group based in Zurich, Switzerland.-History:The Company was founded in 1872 as subsidiary of the Schweiz Marine Insurance Company under the name Versicherung Verein...
in 1998. He was then appointed Chief Executive of Zurich Financial Services UK and retired in 2004.
Leitch became a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
as Baron Leitch, of Oakley in Fife on 7 June 2004. In 2000, prior to becoming a peer, Leitch headed the New Deal scheme which aimed to encourage companies to take on school leavers. Having demonstrated his commitment to public service, he became Chairman of the National Employment Panel in 2004 and also led the Leitch Review of Skills which was published on 5 December 2006. The objective of the review was "to identify the UK's optimal skills mix for 2020 to maximise economic growth, productivity and social justice, set out the balance of responsibility for achieving that skills profile and consider the policy framework required to support it."
2004 Blunkett scandal
Leitch became involved in the 2004 scandal over the then Home SecretaryHome Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
's extra-marital affairs. It was revealed by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
press that Leitch had had a relationship, during 1999, with Kimberley Quinn, the publisher who later had an affair with David Blunkett
David Blunkett
David Blunkett is a British Labour Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, having represented Sheffield Brightside from 1987 to 2010...
.
Relationship with Tony Blair and Gordon Brown
Lord Leitch is a close friend of Tony BlairTony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
and it is suspected that he helped Blair to gain work with Zurich
Zurich Financial Services
Zurich Financial Services AG is a major financial services group based in Zurich, Switzerland.-History:The Company was founded in 1872 as subsidiary of the Schweiz Marine Insurance Company under the name Versicherung Verein...
following his retirement as Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
. He became one of Blair's "most trusted business advisers" during his tenure at No. 10
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street, colloquially known in the United Kingdom as "Number 10", is the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, who is now always the Prime Minister....
. Leitch is also described as a "confidante" of Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
.
Personal life
Leitch has been married twice: firstly to Valerie, whom he divorced in 1997, and secondly to Noelle Dowd in 2003. He has three daughters from his first marriage. He lives in South KensingtonSouth Kensington
South Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross....
, London and has a home in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
.
Income
Lord Leitch earns £130,000 per year from his Non-Executive Directorship at Lloyds TSBLloyds TSB
Lloyds TSB Bank Plc is a retail bank in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1995 by the merger of Lloyds Bank, established in Birmingham, England in 1765 and traditionally considered one of the Big Four clearing banks, with the TSB Group which traces its origins to 1810...
.