Patrick Gibson, Baron Gibson

Early life and war service Gibson was educated at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford. His parents were both accomplished singers, his father a former professional baritone and his mother a lieder recitalist, and he later said he would have liked to be an orchestral conductor.

After the Italian Armistice in September 1943 the commandant of Camp PG 49, Colonel Eugenio Vicedomini, warned that German forces were approaching and told the prisoners to leave; the inmates then dispersed into the countryside. Vicedomini was later sent to a German concentration camp for opening the gates of the camp.

Within Pearson he backed diversification into visitor attractions. Shortly before becoming group chairman he supported the takeover of Madame Tussauds and placed Chessington Zoo under the same management; in 1979 Pearson also took a stake in a United States theme-park operator, a step that preceded the group's later ownership of Alton Towers.

During the industrial conflicts of the 1970s he opposed a journalists' closed shop, leading to a six-month strike at the Northern Echo.

Working with Labour arts minister Hugh Jenkins from 1974 to 1976, the Council backed a stronger role for the Regional Arts Associations. Jenkins told the House of Commons in 1974 that the Arts Council would "continue to give a high priority" to supporting the associations. In a 1977 House of Lords debate Gibson reviewed the period, identifying progress on touring and regional funding followed by financial constraint after the 1973–74 economic crisis and high inflation. The wider arts-policy context also included arguments over public access to national collections: in March 1974 Jenkins told the House of Commons that he was working with trustees on ending museum admission charges.

The Council also considered proposals to rationalise major companies. Press coverage at the time recorded Treasury interest in merging the Royal Opera House and English National Opera; the Council maintained support for both. Following its report, the Council created a Community Arts Committee in April 1975 "for a two-year experimental period", with much of the support routed through the Regional Arts Associations. The 1976–77 report stated that community arts had "proved their worth" and deserved continuing support at a higher level of subsidy.

In 1983 Gibson chaired an extraordinary general meeting at Wembley requisitioned by members who opposed granting a lease of underground rights beneath the Bradenham estate. After debate, a large majority endorsed the Council's policy; press accounts recorded an attendance of about 8,000.