LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM.- The design expert John Sorrell has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE). The four year appointment will run from 14 Dec 2004 to 13 Dec 2008.

Tessa Jowell said: "CABE has made a huge impression in the five short years since its creation. John Sorrell will build on this. His great expertise in the field of design, together with his wide experience of public life, mean that CABE is now very well placed to move forward."

John Sorrell is Co-Chair, Sorrell Foundation, a charity set up to assist young people in improving quality of life through design. He is also Non-Executive Chairman of the London Design Festival. John is an Honorary Fellow of the RIBA, and is a member of DCMS Culture and Creativity Advisory Group; DfES London Challenge Ministerial Advisory Group; DfES Advisory Group on School Buildings and a member of FCO Public Diplomacy Strategy Board. Formerly John was Chairman of UK Design Council, ('94 - 2000), Vice President of Chartered Society of Design (1989-92), Chair of Design Business Association (1990-92). He is a regular speaker and broadcaster on design. Appointed a CBE in 1996.

John has not undertaken any political activity during the past five years.