Geordie Greig

George Carron "Geordie" Greig (born 16 December 1960 in Lambeth, London)^[1][2] is an English journalist and editor of the Daily Mail.

Early life and career

Greig is the son of the late Sir Carron Greig and Monica Stourton, granddaughter of the 24th Lord Mowbray, Segrave and Stourton, and members of his father's family have been royal courtiers for three generations - including his twin sister Laura, who was a lady-in-waiting to Diana, Princess of Wales.^[3] He attended Eton College and St Peter's College, Oxford.

Greig began his career as a reporter for the South East London and Kentish Mercury newspaper, before joining the Daily Mail and then Sunday Today, he moved to The Sunday Times in 1987 ^[4] becoming Arts correspondent in 1989 and then its American correspondent based in New York in 1991. Greig returned to London in 1995 to become The Sunday Times Literary Editor and was then appointed editor of Tatler magazine in 1999.^[5]

Editor

He was appointed editor of the London Evening Standard in February 2009.^[6] During his time as editor the Dispossessed Campaign was launched tackling poverty, illiteracy and unemployment. The campaign led to a Dispossessed Fund which has raised over £9 million for grassroots groups addressing poverty and has helped more than 100,000 people, including the homeless and unemployed.

In 2010 he was appointed Editorial Director of The Independent, The Independent on Sunday and i (Independent Print Ltd) and the Evening Standard.

In March 2012, Greig became editor of The Mail on Sunday while remaining a director of Independent Print Ltd and The London Evening Standard.

He succeeded Paul Dacre as editor of the Daily Mail in September 2018.^[7]

Other interests

In addition to his editorial duties, Greig has literary interests, for instance writing the foreword for the Forward Book of Poetry (1999).^[8] His 2011 book, The Kingmaker is about his grandfather, Louis Greig, a war hero and rugby international, who became mentor, physician and friend to the young and hesitant Prince Albert, the future King George VI. His influence helped to guide the prince from a stammering, shy schoolboy to become the monarch who saw Britain through the Second World War.^[9]

Greig has also written about the life of Lucian Freud. According to his publishers Jonathan Cape: "As one of a few close friends who regularly had breakfast with the painter during the last years of his life Breakfast with Lucian tells an insider's account... Greig, who has studied his subject's work at length, unravels the tangled thread of a life lived on Freud’s own uncompromising terms. Based on private conversations ... and informed by interviews with friends, lovers, and some of the artist's children who have never before spoken publicly about their relationships with the painter... The book was published in autumn 2013."^[10]

In 2005, The Observer newspaper termed Greig "Britain's most connected man".^[11]

Personal life

He is married to Kathryn Terry, who is originally from Texas; the couple have three children, a son, Jasper, and twin daughters, Monica and Octavia (both 14). Greig and his family live in Notting Hill.^[12]

References