Bank of England Governor, Lord George 1930-2009

Lord George, who has died aged 70, was better known to the public as Eddie George, or 'Rock Steady Eddie' - the Governor of the Bank of England to whom Gordon Brown handed independence in 1997. Giving the Bank the power to set interest rates uninfluenced by the fast-changing currents of politics was widely regarded as the masterstroke of Labour’s first term, said the Daily Telegraph, and it was a decision vindicated by George's firm hand on the tiller.

Short, stocky and bespectacled, he "looked like a hardworking bank manager", and in many respects, that was what he was. "What d’you think turns me on?" he once asked a startled journalist over lunch. Answer: "Stability!"

Edward Alan John George was born in Surrey in 1938, the son of a postal worker. He won a scholarship to Dulwich College and went on to read economics (the first Bank of England Governor to have done so) at Cambridge. It was while playing bridge for the university team that his future was decided.

Unbeknownst to him, his opponent was a recruiter for the Bank, and impressed by George's play, he invited him for an interview. George rose steadily through the ranks over the decades that followed, propelled by his impeccable understanding of the nuts and bolts of his profession, and willingness to speak out in front of his superiors when he was sure of his ground.

George was recruited to the Bank after impressing an opponent at bridge

This latter quality was one he continued to respect in others after he had made it to the top, said the Guardian. Staff were terrified of him, but were told "if they put their head in his mouth, he wouldn't bite", as long as they knew what they were talking about.

As Governor, he had an apparently affable relationship with the Tory chancellor, Ken Clarke; though in reality he was frustrated by Clarke’s tendency to disregard the honed advice George had given him and simply "wing it".

His relationship with Gordon Brown also had its tensions. Delighted and surprised when the new Chancellor announced the independence of the Bank a few days after the Labour victory of 1997, George was less than pleased when the Bank's traditional role as supervisor to the City sector was confiscated as a quid pro quo.

He had expected the move, but had been assured by Brown that he would be informed about the timing. As it was, he was taken off-guard, and even considered resigning in protest. Nevertheless, George was appointed for a second five-year stint the following year, and, on stepping down in 2003, was able to boast of "40 successive quarters of positive growth". And that, he added, has "all been pretty thrilling".

In the light of recent events, some have argued that 'Steady Eddie' was not steady enough: his enthusiasm for cutting rates may have contributed to the debt bubble. But it is worth remembering, said the Times, that the acclaim he received at the time was more or less universal. George is survived by his wife, Vanessa, and their three children. ·