MacGregor was a director of the British Museum through its exhibitions; “The History of the World in 100 Objects” and; “Germany: Memories of a Nation”.

MacGregor was born in Glasgow and was educated at the Glasgow Academy and then studied modern languages at New College, Oxford, where he is now an honorary fellow. He then went on to study philosophy at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris and then as a Law Student at Edinburgh University. He then took a Master’s degree under the supervision of Anthony Blunt after having been spotted by him while taking part in a summer school at the Courtauld Institute in Bavaria. He then went in to teach History of Art and Architecture at the University of Reading from1975 to 1981. In 1987 he became director of the National Gallery in London. There he was dubbed “Saint Neil” due to his popularity and his devout Christianity. During his directorship he presented the BBC television series “Painting the World” amongst others. He declined a Knighthood in 1999 making him the first director of the National Gallery to do so.

In 2002 he became the director of the British Museum and was praised for his diplomatic approach to the role. In 2008 he was appointed chairman of the World Collections program for training international curators at British Museums. On April 8th, 2015 he announced his resignation as director of the British museum and will be chairing the Advisory Board to make recommendations to the German Minister of Culture.

• Reference: https://www.facebook.com/UKinGermany

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