Lord Currie's expertise lies largely in the field of finance. As the head of Ofcom, he will be responsible for the regulation of the UK's multibillion-pound broadcasting industry.

Lord Currie, 53, is currently best-known as a Labour peer. He also just recently stepped down as a Labour Party whip.

Lord Currie has indepth financial expertise

He has been an adviser to Chancellor Gordon Brown and is the author of a Treasury paper on European monetary union.

He was made a peer in 1996.

But he has also worked under the previous Conservative administration - between 1992 and 1995, David Currie was a member of the Treasury's so-called "wise men" panel of independent forecasters, working under Norman Lamont and then Kenneth Clarke.

Academic

He is, and is expected to remain, in his position as dean of London's City University Business School.

But it is not known if he will continue as a non-executive director of the Abbey National bank.

Lord Currie was promoted from deputy to dean at the business school in October 2000.

At the time of his appointment, City University's vice-chancellor, Professor David Rhind, described Lord Currie as "world class".

Before that, Lord Currie was an economics professor and governor at the school.

Lord Currie has also held visiting appointments at the International Monetary Fund, the Bank of England, and the European University Institute.

He has also acted as a consultant to the European Commission.

Arts

Lord Currie is known as a successful writer, having published extensively in his expert field.

He is also used to the workings of regulatory bodies. Until April this year, he was on the management board of energy industry watchdog Ofgem.

But Lord Currie's interests and activities are not confined to business.

He also devotes time to his role as trustee of the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, a non-charitable, cross-party trust.

Around his home in Islington, north London, he supports a number of local organisations, including the Almeida Theatre and the Islington Museum Trust.