Biography and speech of Professor Sir George Bain

George Bain has been President and Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s University Belfast since January 1998. A Canadian, he has an international reputation in the field of industrial relations. He has been a mediator and arbitrator in numerous disputes in a wide range of companies and industries and has consulted for many organisations in both the private and public sectors. He was a member of the Committee of Inquiry into Industrial Democracy chaired by Lord Bullock in 1976-7, of the Senior Salaries Review Body during 1993-6, and was Chairman of the Low Pay Commission during 1997-2002, the Work and Parents Taskforce in 2001, and the Independent Review of the Fire Service in 2002. He has received a number of prizes and honours, including nine honorary doctorates. He was knighted by the Queen in 2001.