A former head of the UK Space Agency has been named the British Library’s new chief executive.

Paul Bate will take over at the UK’s national library in November, succeeding interim chief executive Jeremy Silver, it was announced on 22 September.

Bate, who holds a PhD in particle physics from the University of Manchester, ran the UK’s independent space agency for nearly five years until March 2026. In April, the agency was folded into the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to cut costs, with DSIT itself absorbed into a newly formed Department of Business, Innovation, Science and Trade when Andy Burnham became prime minister in July.

Bate, a former McKinsey consultant, was previously the prime minister’s senior policy adviser for health and social care under David Cameron and executive director of strategy and intelligence at the Care Quality Commission. He also served in the Delivery Unit at 10 Downing Street under Tony Blair.

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His appointment follows the sudden departure of Rebecca Lawrence in November, less than a year after she started and midway through a two-week strike over pay that saw more than 300 staff walk out.

Some of the St Pancras library’s digital functions remain offline following a ramsomware attack in October 2023, which prevented access to in-person ordering services for months. In July, the library’s EThOS platform of digitised PhD dissertations was partially restored, although the new portal only provides held by university libraries.

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Welcoming Bate’s appointment, Carol Black, chair of the British Library’s board, said the selection panel was “particularly impressed by his experience leading complex, research-intensive organisations, fostering innovation and building partnerships, which will be invaluable as we deliver our strategy to strengthen the library’s role as a cultural cornerstone and globally trusted source of knowledge”.

Describing the British Library as “one of the world's great libraries and a vital part of the UK’s cultural and intellectual infrastructure”, Bate said he was “honoured to be leading an organisation of expert professionals that has shared knowledge at its heart, opens up ideas and information to millions of people, and is resiliently overcoming the challenges of recent years”.

Bate will take up the post on 4 November.

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com