(Bloomberg) -- Grease star Olivia Newton-John was made a dame in the U.K. New Year's Honors List, which also included England cricketing heroes Joe Root and Ben Stokes.
Former Conservative Party leader and prominent Brexiteer Iain Duncan Smith was granted a knighthood. The U.K. is set to leave the European Union on Jan. 31.
Simon Stevens, chief executive officer of the National Health Service in England, received a knighthood. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised to make the NHS a key priority over the course of this parliament.
In finance, Ross McEwan, the former CEO of Royal Bank of Scotland, Keith Morgan, head of the British Business Bank, and Saker Nusseibeh, chief of Hermes Investment Management, were made Commanders of the Order of the British Empire. Jonathan Symonds, deputy group chairman of HSBC Holdings and chairman of Genomics England, received a knighthood for services to U.K. life sciences and finance.
Pop star Elton John saw his honors upgraded, being appointed to the Order of the Companions of Honour. That rewards achievements in politics, industry, science and the arts and is limited to just 65 people at any one time. Critically acclaimed directors Sam Mendes and Steve McQueen also got knighthoods.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Fergal O'Brien, Raymond Colitt
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