New Year Honours 2022
Diane Elizabeth LEES, DBE
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
Director General • Imperial War Museums
Organisation: Imperial War Museums
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire · 2022
“For services to Museums and Cultural Heritage.”
Commander of the Order of the British Empire · 2015
“For services to Museums.”
Timeline
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
For services to Museums and Cultural Heritage.
View London Gazette notice ↗Recognised for
Topics
Wikipedia
London Gazette notice
Order of the British Empire
Civil Division
Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood
St. James’s Palace, London SW1
01 January 2022
THE QUEEN has been graciously pleased to give orders for the following promotions in, and appointments to, the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire:
D.B.E.
To be Ordinary Dames Commander of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order:
Diane Elizabeth LEES C.B.E.
Director General, Imperial War Museum
For services to Museums and Cultural Heritage.
Source: The London Gazette, issue 63571 · Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0
London Gazette page
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) · 2015
View this issue on the London Gazette ↗ · Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0
Location
See other people honoured from London →
Location comes from the Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list, not the Gazette notice, and isn’t available for every honour.
In context
Each honour in context
Role, region and citation as recorded for each award.
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
New Year Honours 2015- Role at the time
- Director General, Imperial War Museums
- Region
- London
“For services to Museums.”
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
New Year Honours 2022- Role at the time
- Director General
- Region
- Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
“For services to Museums and Cultural Heritage.”
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New Year Honours 2022
Diane Elizabeth Lees,
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
“For services to Museums and Cultural Heritage.”
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New Year Honours 2022
Diane Elizabeth Lees,
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
“For services to Museums and Cultural Heritage.”
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New Year Honours 2022
Diane Elizabeth Lees,
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
“For services to Museums and Cultural Heritage.”
Print · from £5.99
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In context
The bigger picture
How common is this award?
The Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire was awarded 15 times in the New Year Honours List 2022 — about 1% of the list.
In their area
1 Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire recipient is from Nottinghamshire.
What organisation were they with?
Director General, Imperial War Museums.
How widely is this recognised?
4,560 people have been recognised for Arts & Culture.
Counts reflect the 1937–2026 honours lists in our records; earlier years are not yet included.
Honoured alongside them
Others awarded the Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year Honours 2022
Emily Lawson
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2022
Henley-on-Thames, Berkshire
“For services to the NHS, particularly during Covid-19.”
Flora Duffy
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2022
“For services to Sport in Bermuda.”
Helen Stokes-lampard
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2022
Tamworth, Staffordshire
“For services to General Practice.”
Jennifer Harries
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2022
Monmouth, Gwent
“For services to Health.”
Joanna Lumley
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2022
London, Greater London
“For services to Drama, to Entertainment and to Charitable Causes.”
Julie Lydon
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2022
Stroud, Gloucestershire
“For services to Higher Education.”
June Raine
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2022
Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire
“For services to Healthcare and the Covid-19 Response.”
Laura Kenny
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2022
Marton, Cheshire
“For services to Cycling.”
Sara Khan
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2022
Watford, Hertfordshire
“For services to Human Rights and Counter Extremism.”
Sarah Springman
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2022
Egham, Surrey
“For services to Engineering and to International Sports Administration.”
Susan Gray
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2022
Sylvia Heal
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2022
Egham, Surrey
“For Political and Public Service.”
Vanessa Redgrave
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2022
London, Greater London
“For services to Drama.”
Vivienne Cox
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2022
Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire
“For services to Sustainability, and to Diversity and Inclusion in Business.”
In the same field
Others recognised for Arts & Culture
Across the 1937–2026 honours lists in our records, 4,560 people have been recognised for Arts & Culture. See the full list →
Malorie Blackman
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Literature.”
Cerys Matthews,
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Bourne End, Buckinghamshire
“For services to Music.”
Mukesh Sharma
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Newtownabbey, County Antrim
“For services to Heritage.”
Julia Catherine Donaldson
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Horsham, West Sussex
“For services to Literature.”
Richard Starrs
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Stockton on Tees, North Yorkshire
“For services to Heritage.”
Adam Joolia
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Brighton, East Sussex
“For services to Young People and to Music.”
Julia Jones
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Carmarthenshire, Dyfed
“For services to Music.”
Margaret Irvine
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Birsay, Orkney
“For services to Drama and to the community in Orkney.”
Shirley Henderson (shirley Mcgill)
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Aberdeen, City of Aberdeen
“For services to Drama.”
James Fraser
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Dunblane, Stirling and Falkirk
“For services to Tourism and Heritage in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.”
John Fannon
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Weymouth, Dorset
“For services to Heritage.”
Helen Fannon
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Weymouth, Dorset
“For services to Heritage.”
Daniel Crow
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Southampton, Hampshire
“For services to Artists and to Arts and Heritage.”
David Cottle
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Swansea, West Glamorgan
“For services to Jazz Music.”
Rebecca Chapman
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Norwich, Norfolk
“For services to Inclusive Theatre.”
Marilyn Blieck
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Prestwick, Ayrshire and Arran
“For services to Music and to the community in Ayrshire.”
Christopher Gaze
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
“For services to British Arts and Culture in Canada.”
Stephen Watson
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Belfast, City of Belfast
“For services to Broadcasting and to Kidney Transplant Awareness and to Fundraising in Northern Ireland.”
Iain Varah
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Dunmow, Essex
“For services to Public Libraries, Culture and Leisure.”
Peter Talbot
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Eastbourne, East Sussex
“For services to the Arts.”
Paul Stacey
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Theatre.”
Lisa Riley
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Leeds, West Yorkshire
“For services to Drama and to Charity.”
Garry Richardson
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Seale, Surrey
“For services to Sport Broadcasting.”
Suzanne Raine
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
“For services to Heritage.”
Source & provenance
Where this record comes from
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire · 2022
London Gazette (official record), issue 63571, notice 3956201. View the official notice ↗
Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list (New Year Honours List 2022).
Published 31 December 2021.
Commander of the Order of the British Empire · 2015
London Gazette (official record), published supplement. View the issue ↗
Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list (New Year Honours List 2015).
Published 31 December 2014.
Location (London) comes from the Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list, not the Gazette notice, which records no recipient home location.
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