EZRA, DEREK, BARON

EZRA, DEREK, BARON (1919– ), British industrial administrator. Ezra was educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge, and served in the British army during World War II, being appointed a member of the Order of the British Empire and awarded the United States Bronze Star. In 1947 he joined the newly nationalized coal industry. After holding posts in sales and marketing on the National Coal Board, he became a member of the board in 1965 and deputy chairman in 1967, and was chairman, the highest position in the industry, from 1971 to 1982. His period of office included the 1974 miners' strike, but he was generally characterized by a conciliatory attitude in industrial relations. Ezra was knighted in 1974 and created a life peer in 1983. After retirement from the coal board, he joined the Social Democratic Party in the House of Lords and held numerous British and European directorships and advisory posts in industry and commerce. He was appointed a Grand Officer of the Italian Order of Merit and held French and Luxembourg decorations. (Vivian David Lipman)