The City has elected Alderman Michael Bear as the 683rd Lord Mayor of the City of London, to serve from Friday 12 November 2010.

Alderman Michael Bear, who served as Sheriff of the City 2007-2008, is a leading figure in the property and construction industries and has a long history heading inner-city regeneration projects, for example Spitalfields, in the east of the City.

A trained civil engineer, Alderman Bear is Regeneration Director at Hammerson plc, MD of Balfour Beatty Property and a non-executive director of Arup. As Lord Mayor, Alderman Bear will be head of the City of London Corporation and be global ambassador for the UK-based financial services industry, an international role he is well-fitted for: born in Nairobi and brought up and educated in Cyprus and the UK, he then studied civil engineering at South Africa’s Witwatersrand University before taking an MBA at Cranfield and embarking on an international business career.

Typically a Lord Mayor will spend three months a year leading City business delegations overseas – and also meeting leading overseas politicians and business leaders visiting London’s financial community. Lord Mayor Elect Michael Bear’s charitable appeal will be ‘Bear Necessities – Building Better Lives’ on behalf of the children’s charity Coram – and RedR, a charity that trains and provides engineers and other relief workers to respond to worldwide emergencies. The appeal aims to help 10,000 children and their families and train 4,000 relief workers,

Speaking after his election, Lord Mayor Elect Michael Bear said:
"London faces a double challenge as a world-leading financial centre – how to remain ahead as a global hub whilst at the same time demonstrating the benefits of that position to London and the UK as a whole.

‘’The financial crisis has raised the stakes: it is not enough for the City to bring billions into the UK exchequer, paying for schools, hospitals and roads. The City also has to find ways of sharing this success more directly with the public across London and the UK, so that more people feel that having a global financial centre based in the UK is good for us all. The City has to lead globally and demonstrate its benefits locally.’’

‘’I believe my experience as a user of financial services at home and abroad, linking finance and trade, together with my practical experience in regeneration, infrastructure and engineering, will help me use the Mayoralty to get across the clear and tangible benefits to the UK of the City’s success.’’

The Lord Mayor Elect, as he is known after today’s election, does not take office until the Silent Ceremony, which is held in Great Hall, Guildhall on Friday 12 November 2010 at 3pm, the day preceding the Lord Mayor's Show (Saturday 13 November). The Lord Mayor's Banquet, at which the Prime Minister speaks, follows on Monday 15 November at Guildhall.

Lord Mayor of the City of London

Sheriffs & Aldermen 2008/09 – George Gillon FRICS CC and Alderman Roger Gifford

George Gillon, past Master of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Surveyors, Ward of Cordwainer, was Sheriff of the City of London 2008/2009. [download pdf profile]