Gordon Manzie

Sir Gordon Manzie, KCB (3 April 1930 – 24 September 2014) was a British civil servant, former chief executive of the Property Services Agency.

Manzie was born in Edinburgh in 1930, the son of a railway clerk and grew up in a council house in Stenhouse, where he attended primary school and was joint dux. Manzie won a bursary to the Royal High School of Edinburgh. In 1947 he joined the civil service initially as a clerical officer in the central registry of the Scottish Home and Health Department. After his executive officer exam, he joined the Ministry of Supply in London.

In 1949 he undertook his 2 year national service with the RAF at Hereford and Bridgnorth, before returning to his posting in London in 1951 where he met his future wife Rosalind Clay. Manzie was married in 1955.

At the age of 30 he graduated with a BSc in economics from the London School of Economics following a course of part-time study.

Manzie then was appointed to a number of posts including private secretary to the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Aviation, and secretary to the Edwards Committee of Inquiry into Civil Air Transport, before moving to the Scottish Office, and later the DTi.

In 1983, Manzie was appointed Companion of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath.

In 1984, Manzie was appointed second permanent secretary and chief executive of the Property Services Agency. He was appointed to resolve problems of widespread corruption at the agency. His work led to the prosecutions of a number of the agency's staff.

In 1987, Manzie was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. He retired from the civil service in 1990, and became chairman of Anglo Japanese Construction Ltd, winning a contract to build Tsing Ma Bridge. He was also the chairman and director of companies in the Trafalgar House group winning the contract for Jiangyin Bridge.

Manzie died in 2014 in Harlow.