Williams to chair new BBC Trust international committee

The UK government has appointed Lord Michael Williams of Baglan to the BBC Trust, the broadcaster’s governing body.

Williams will be the first BBC Trustee to take on an international role as part of his responsibilities. This will reinstate a position on the BBC’s governing body with specific oversight of the BBC’s international public services, including the BBC World Service. He will chair a new BBC Trust committee to monitor the international public services, which also include BBC World News and BBC Monitoring.

Williams was most recently the UN special coordinator for Lebanon and an under secretary-general of the UN. He is also a former special adviser to two former UK Foreign secretaries and special adviser to the United Nations secretary general on the Middle East. A former editor at the BBC World Service, Williams has also been a trustee of the BBC World Service Trust.