ESA's first Director General at 100
Congratulations and best wishes to Roy Gibson, the first Director General of ESA serving from 1975 until 1980, who is celebrating his 100th birthday this week.
30 JUN. 2003
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Roy Gibson was a Director General of ESRO, and the first Director General of ESA, serving from 1975 until 1980.
Mr Gibson was born in 1924 and educated at the Universities of Oxford and London (London School of Economics). He served in the British Colonial Administrative Service in Malaya from 1948 to 1958.
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Roy Gibson
He returned to London to work at the UK Atomic Energy Authority until 1967. He became Deputy Director of the ESRO Technical Centre (ESTEC), until 1971 when he became Director of Administration for ESRO. From 1974 he was Acting Director General of ESRO, and oversaw the transition of the two previous organisations ESRO and ELDO to form ESA in 1975.
Mr Gibson was the first Director General of the British National Space Centre from 1985 to 1987. Since then he has served as an aerospace consultant to the EU Commission and worked on the setting up of the European Environmental Agency.
He celebrated his 100th birthday in 2024.
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Erik Quistgaard
Erik Quistgaard was the second Director General of ESA, serving from 1980 until 1984. He passed away on 11 February 2013, aged 91.
Reimar Lüst
Prof. Dr Reimar Lüst was the third Director General of ESA, serving from 1984 until 1990.
Jean-Marie Luton
Jean-Marie Luton was the fourth Director General of ESA, serving from 1990 until 1997.
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