Professor Jeremy Peat

Jeremy Alastair Peat was born in 1945 in Haywards Heath in West Sussex, the son of John- always known as Jack- a shipping agent and Pamela Peat, and grew up in South London. He attended St Paul’s School in London before studying Economics and Politics at the University of Bristol. He would later obtain an MSc in the Economics of Public Policy at University College London.

In 1969 he embarked on an impressive career in the civil service which saw him serve as an economist in the Ministry of Overseas Development- including a spell at the British Embassy in Bangkok between 1972 and 1974 - in the Manpower Services Commission, in the Government of Botswana’s Ministry of Finance and Development between 1980 and 84 and then in HM Treasury. His civil service career culminated in the post of Senior Economic Adviser at the Scottish Office between 1985 and 1993. 

In 1993 he moved into the corporate world when he became Group Chief Economist at the Royal Bank of Scotland. He held this post until 2005 and was one of those whose counsel helped steer the Bank through a period of dynamic growth and expansion before the emergence of its later well-known challenges. 

From 2005 onwards Jeremy’s expertise and experience were in high demand as he served on  the boards of a range of high profile organisations which benefited greatly from his wisdom and strategic advice. He became Director of the David Hume Institute that year and held this position until 2014. In addition, he served as a member of the Competition Commission for more than a decade and was on the BBC’s Board of Governors and the BBC Pension Trust. A lover of animals, he sat on the Board and later became Chair of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland while he was also an active Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh where he served as Vice-President of Business. His knowledge and guidance helped the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh when he served as Lay Advisory Committee Member. In addition to being very active on boards, he was a Visiting Professor at the International Public Policy Institute at the University of Strathclyde, and at Edinburgh and Glasgow Universities. Writing regularly on economics, he had a column in The Herald newspaper between 2005 and 2022 and his contributions to public life in Scotland were recognised through the award of Honorary doctorates from Aberdeen and Heriot-Watt universities. 

An avid sports fan, he had a life-long love of rugby and he played tennis and golf well. Later in life he took up Bridge again and enjoyed playing regularly. Reading and music were also important to him, as was holidaying in Scotland. A resident of Roslin Glen in Midlothian, he was a member of the Committee for the conservation of Rosslyn Chapel. 

Jeremy was well liked and respected by colleagues throughout his career and later life, all of whom recognised his energy, enthusiasm and intelligence. He is survived by his wife Philippa whom he married in 1972 and two daughters, Stephanie and Alexandra. 

Douglas Pattullo