Alex Jarratt

Who is Alex Jarratt?

Sir Alexander Jarratt CB is a British businessman and former senior civil servant. He was the fifth Chancellor of Birmingham University. He chaired a Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals studying higher education policy; the committee's influential report became known as the Jarratt Report.

Sir Alex attended the Royal Liberty Grammar School in Essex. He served in the Fleet Air Arm during the Second World War. After the war he attended the University of Birmingham, graduating with first class honours as a Bachelor of Commerce. He joined the Civil Service in 1949, working in a wide range of government departments. He resigned from the Civil Service in 1970, and pursued a second career in industry, holding senior positions in companies including IPC, Reed International and the Midland Bank.

Sir Alex was knighted in 1979 and was awarded the Companion of the Bath in 1968.

He was appointed Chancellor of the University of Birmingham in 1983 and retired in 2002, to be succeeded by Sir Dominic Cadbury.