Air Vice-Marshal David Anthony Hobart, (born 24 December 1951) is a British executive, aeronautical engineer, and former Royal Air Force (RAF) officer. Having been commissioned into the RAF in 1972, he reached the rank of air vice-marshal and served as Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Policy) from 2001 to 2004. Following retirement from the military, he was chief executive of the Bar Council from 2004 to 2011, and has been chief executive of the City of London Law Society since 2011. He also served as

Gentleman Usher Gentleman Usher is a title for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. See List of Gentlemen Ushers for a list of office-holders. Gentlemen Ushers as servants Historical Gentlemen Ushers were originally a class of servants fou ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

Early life and education

Hobart was born on 24 December 1951. He studied at

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

, graduating with a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree in 1991. He studied law with the Open University, graduating Bachelor of Laws (LLB): he is not qualified as a solicitor nor barrister.

Military career

On 25 February 1972, Hobart was commissioned into the Engineer Branch of the Royal Air Force as a

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

. He was promoted to flying officer on 25 February 1973, and to

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

on 25 August 1977. As part of the half-yearly promotions, he was promoted to squadron leader on 1 January 1983, to wing commander on 1 July 1988, and to

group captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

on 1 January 1995. Promoted to air commodore, Hobart served as Director of Defence Programmes at the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

between 1998 and 2001. He was promoted to air vice-marshal in 2001, and served as Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Policy) from 2001 to 2004. He retired from the Royal Air Force on 10 January 2005. He was appointed

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

(CB) in the

2004 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2004 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 11 June 2004 for the United Kingdom, New Zealand, the Cook IslandsCook Islands list: and elsewhere to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2004. The recipients of honours are d ...

and Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO) in the

2022 Birthday Honours The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as par ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hobart, David Anthony 1951 births Living people Aeronautical engineers 20th-century British engineers Royal Air Force air marshals British chief executives Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge Alumni of the Open University Companions of the Order of the Bath Lieutenants of the Royal Victorian Order