The Morgan Stanley Great Britons 2007 Awards Dinner took place on Thursday 31st January 2008, 6.30pm, at The Guildhall, London, EC2P 2EJ
Please find winners highlighted in red below
JK Rowling, world renowned author of Harry Potter, has been proclaimed the Morgan Stanley Great Briton of 2007. The esteemed award was bestowed on her at a glittering awards ceremony at the Guildhall in London this evening.
Former Eurythmics singer Annie Lennox presented Rowling with the honour in recognition of her outstanding success and achievements in the past year. Rowling was praised for her unprecedented global reach and her success in provoking a new found enthusiasm for reading among children and adults worldwide. Rowling accepted the award by video from her home in Edinburgh.
The fourth annual Morgan Stanley Great Britons Awards, hosted by Clive Anderson, aims to celebrate what it means to be British by recognising those who have contributed exceptional achievements to their field in a distinctly British way. Each year the public nominates people who have made them proud to be British, seven winners were then chosen by a panel of distinguished judges.
Awards were presented across seven categories of Arts, Business, Creative Industries, Campaigning & Public Life, Environment, Science & Innovation and Sport.
The winners in each category were: JK Rowling (Arts), Sir John Rose (Business), Jonathan Ive (Creative Industries), Shami Chakrabarti (Campaigning & Public Life), Tim Smit (Environment), Sir Martin Evans (Science & Innovation), and Lewis Hamilton (Sport).
Shami Chakrabarti CBE, Director of Liberty, was honoured for her outstanding contribution to Campaigning & Public Life. The award recognises her tireless campaigning to defend civil liberties. William Lewis, Editor-in-Chief at The Daily Telegraph presented the award.
The Environment award, presented by Lord Stern of Brentwood, was given to renowned eco-warrior Tim Smit, Chief Executive and co-founder of the Eden Project in Cornwall. Smit’s dedication to promoting the understanding of human dependence on plants and the natural environment secured him the award ahead of two remarkable contenders Jeremy Leggett, founder and Chairman of Solarcentury, and Sir Jonathon Porritt, co-founder of the UK’s leading sustainable development charities, Forum for the Future.
Short listed Ricky Hatton and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston ran Lewis Hamilton very close, but it is, Britain’s golden child of Formula One who accepted the award for outstanding sporting achievement, as he embarks on the 2008 Formula One campaign starting in Australia in March.
Three exemplary artists were nominated for this year’s Arts award but it was JK Rowling, acclaimed author of Harry Potter and overall Morgan Stanley Great Briton of 2007, who eclipsed artist Damien Hirst and actor Sir Ian McKellen.
Sir Martin Evans, winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine last year, was awarded the Science & Innovation award for his pioneering stem cell research which led to the creation of genetically modified ‘knock out’ mice designed to replicate human diseases. Neurobiologist Colin Blakemore and Sir David King, Former Chief Scientific Adviser, were also nominated for the award.
The Business award was given to Sir John Rose, Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce. His revival of the iconic aero-engine maker secured him the award amid tough competition from Sir Ronald Cohen, founder of Apax Partners, Britain’s first venture capital firm and Michael Spencer, founder of ICAP.
Finally, the Creative Industries award was awarded to Jonathan Ive, Senior Vice President of industrial design at Apple. Ive and his team were instrumental in the launch of the stunning iMac and the development of the iconic iPod, iPhone and MacBook Air. Also nominated for the award was English comedian, author and broadcaster Stephen Fry as well as Michael Boyd, Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
As the centrepiece of the evening David Cameron presented Baroness Thatcher with a Lifetime Achievement Award honouring her lifetime contribution to public service and international affairs.
Each winner was presented with an award sculpture created by Neal French, British Sculptor and previous winner of the Design Award and Duke of Edinburgh Prize.
Simon Robey, Head of Morgan Stanley UK and Global Head of M&A, said:
“The shortlist this year came from a diverse range of nominees from a large range of fields and backgrounds, and they share the core British characteristics of adaptability, modesty, humour and determination. Together they say more about what it means to be British than any definition of Britishness could hope to.”
David Jensen Photography:
https://www.davidjensen.co.uk/
