Directorate Change

Reed Elsevier PLC
01 March 2005





                                  NEWS RELEASE

           Issued on behalf of Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV

                                                                    1 March 2005

      Reed Elsevier Announces Retirement of Morris Tabaksblat as Chairman,
                       names Jan Hommen as his successor

Reed Elsevier announced today the forthcoming retirement of Morris Tabaksblat
(67) as non-executive Chairman of Reed Elsevier. Mr Tabaksblat, who has been
Chairman since 1999, is reducing his business commitments for personal reasons
and will step down from his role at the end of the Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed
Elsevier NV Annual General Meetings in April 2005.

Reed Elsevier also announced today that, subject to his appointment to the
boards, Jan Hommen will succeed Mr Tabaksblat as non-executive Chairman of both
Reed Elsevier PLC, Reed Elsevier NV and Reed Elsevier Group plc. Mr. Hommen is
presently Vice Chairman of the Board of Management and Chief Financial Officer
and Executive Vice President of Royal Philips Electronics. He will be standing
down from these positions on May 1, 2005, when he reaches the statutory
retirement age of 62.

Mr Hommen will be proposed for appointment as a non-executive director of Reed
Elsevier PLC and a member of the supervisory board of Reed Elsevier NV at the
Annual General Meetings in April 2005 and will assume the chairmanships on Mr.
Tabaksblat's retirement.

Commenting on Mr. Tabaksblat's retirement, Sir Crispin Davis, Chief Executive
Officer, said: 'I am extremely grateful for the guidance Morris has provided to
Reed Elsevier and to me personally. He has been an outstanding Chairman for over
six years and has guided the boards and management through a period of
considerable change, first in helping to stabilise the business and then leading
a period of strong recovery.'

Mr Tabaksblat, commenting on Mr Hommen's appointment, said: 'Jan Hommen brings a
wealth of experience to this senior role. Having operated as a senior business
executive in international roles for 15 years, he is well suited to be chairman
of Reed Elsevier. I am pleased to hand over to such a capable person.'

Mr Hommen, who was born in 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, in 1943, started
his career in 1970 at Alcoa where he held positions of increasing seniority
until his appointment as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in
1991. In 1997, Mr Hommen became Executive Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer of Royal Philips Electronics. He was later appointed Vice Chairman of
the Board of Management and tasked with responsibility for the Philips Medical
Systems business.

Mr Hommen is currently a member of the supervisory boards of Koninklijke Ahold
N.V., and of TPG N.V. and is a director of MedQuist Inc, a quoted US subsidiary
of Philips.

There are no further matters to be disclosed in accordance with paragraph 16.4
of the Listing Rules of the UK Listing Authority.


Notes to Editors

Reed Elsevier Group plc is a world leading publisher and information provider.
It is owned equally by its two parent companies, Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed
Elsevier NV.  The parent companies are listed on the London, Amsterdam and New
York Stock Exchanges, under the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam
: REN; New York: RUK and ENL.  In 2004, Reed Elsevier made adjusted profit
before taxation of £1,027 million/€1,510 million on turnover of £4,812 million/
€7,074 million.  The group employs 35,600 people, including approximately 22,000
in North America. Operating in the scientific, legal, educational and
business-to-business sectors, Reed Elsevier provides high value and flexible
information solutions to professional end users, with increasing emphasis on
internet delivery.

                                     -Ends-




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