15 Facts About Lionel Barber

Lionel Barber was born on 18 January 1955 and is an English journalist.

Lionel Barber was editor of the Financial Times from 2005 to 2020.

Lionel Barber was credited with raising its journalistic standards, transforming it into a global brand, navigating its transition into the digital era, growing readership, and managing its takeover by Nikkei.

Lionel Barber was born on 18 January 1955 to a journalist father.

Lionel Barber was educated at Dulwich College, an independent school for boys in Dulwich in South London, and at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, graduating in 1978 with an upper second joint honours degree in German and modern history.

Lionel Barber worked for a company in Germany as an interpreter, before being offered a job on the Thomson regional training scheme.

Lionel Barber began his career in journalism in 1978 as a reporter for The Scotsman.

Lionel Barber was formerly the editor of the FT Continental European edition, during which he briefed US President George W Bush ahead of his first trip to Europe.

In July 2012, Lionel Barber was accused of intimidating and threatening a member of staff at the Financial Times.

Lionel Barber was accused of "losing his temper and raising his voice" in a manner that breached the newspaper's procedures.

Lionel Barber stepped down from the role on 17 January 2020 after 14 years as editor, and was succeeded by Roula Khalaf.

Lionel Barber published a memoir covering his editorship of the FT in 2020, entitled The Powerful and the Damned: Private Diaries in Turbulent Times.

In 2021, Lionel Barber joined a consortium of 9 other investors, that included former BBC Director-General and The New York Times Company chief executive Mark Thompson, to purchase The New European newspaper for an undisclosed sum.

Lionel Barber has received a number of awards and distinctions for his journalistic work.

Lionel Barber has a daughter and a son, born in Washington, DC in 1988 and 1990.