George Robin Paget Ferguson
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
,
PPRIBA,
RWA (born 22 March 1947) is a British politician, former architect, and entrepreneur who served as the first elected
mayor of Bristol
The Mayor of Bristol is the head of government of Bristol and the chief executive of the Bristol City Council. The mayor is a directly elected politician who, along with the 70 members of Bristol City Council, is responsible for the strategic ...
from 2012 to 2016.
Ferguson was co-founder of Ferguson Mann Architects in 1979, where regeneration and historic building work formed the foundation of the practice. He was also the founder of the national architectural group Acanthus.
He is a past president of the
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...
(2003–2005) where "he was noted for championing the causes of education, the environment and good urbanism".
He was a founding director of The Academy of Urbanism
and a founding member of the British sustainable transport charity
Sustrans
Sustrans is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network.
Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United K ...
. Ferguson was appointed
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(CBE) in the
2010 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 2010 were announced on 31 December 2009 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Saint Lucia, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Christopher and NevisSaint Christ ...
for services to architecture and to the community in the South West of England. In November 2012, Ferguson became the first elected
mayor of Bristol
The Mayor of Bristol is the head of government of Bristol and the chief executive of the Bristol City Council. The mayor is a directly elected politician who, along with the 70 members of Bristol City Council, is responsible for the strategic ...
. He was a member of the
Society of Merchant Venturers before stepping down due to a conflict of interest upon becoming Mayor of Bristol.
Early life
Ferguson was born on 22 March 1947, in
Winchester,
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
. His father's military career took the family to
Gibraltar
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, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
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, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
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, to the South and North of England and Norway before settling in
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
. While in Gibraltar, Ferguson contracted infant
polio
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...
.
Education
Ferguson was educated at
Wellington College Wellington College may refer to:
*Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England
** Wellington College International Shanghai
** Wellington College International Tianjin
* Wellington College, Wellington, Ne ...
.
Ferguson read architecture at the
University of Bristol
, mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'')
, established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter
, type ...
from 1965 to 1971.
Ferguson has been awarded honorary degrees from the University of Bristol and the
University of the West of England
The University of the West of England (also known as UWE Bristol) is a public research university, located in and around Bristol, England.
The institution was know as the Bristol Polytechnic in 1970; it received university status in 1992 and ...
.
Apart from one year in London, Ferguson has lived in Bristol since beginning his degree in 1965.
Career in architecture
Urban renewal and environmental sustainability were central elements of Ferguson's approach to design, exemplified by developments such as the
Tobacco Factory. In 1978, Ferguson co-founded Ferguson Mann Architects and the practice won many awards for design.
[ In 1986, Ferguson founded Acanthus, a network of independent practices committed to design and conservation.
During his career, Ferguson has written and presented articles, broadcasts and lectures on planning and architectural matters and sustainability,][ and appeared on the 2005 ]Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
television series Demolition. Ferguson fully stepped down from Ferguson Mann Architects after his election as Mayor of Bristol to concentrate on his new role within the city.
Regeneration in South Bristol
Ferguson is noted for his role in the regeneration of the Bedminster area of South Bristol. In 1994, he bought the last remaining major building of the old Imperial Tobacco Raleigh Road estate for £200,000 to save it from demolition and regenerate it. The site, now named the Tobacco Factory, is a mixed-use development that includes the Tobacco Factory Theatre, bar, creative industry workspace and flats.
In 2003, Ferguson bought part of the long-closed Ashton Gate Brewery. The Bristol Beer Factory began brewing beer on the site in 2005 and has won national awards. In 2018 Ferguson moved back to Clifton, having lived in the Tobacco Factory for a number of years.
Politics
Ferguson was one of the first three Liberal Councillors elected to Bristol City Council
Bristol City Council is the local authority of Bristol, England. The council is a unitary authority, and is unusual in the United Kingdom in that its executive function is controlled by a directly elected mayor of Bristol. Bristol has 34 ward ...
, representing Cabot Ward from 1973 to 1979.[ He stood unsuccessfully for the Liberals in the ]1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
and 1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
general elections in Bristol West, after which he ceased any active political involvement.
In March 2012, Ferguson confirmed speculation that he was planning to stand as an independent candidate for Mayor of Bristol if the referendum on 3 May chose to adopt the mayoral system. Following the referendum, Ferguson resigned his membership from the Liberal Democrat party before announcing that he would stand for mayor, but explained that he had no intention to run as a party candidate. Ferguson ran as an independent but registered his 'Bristol 1st' party to distinguish himself from other independents on the ballot paper. In his campaign material, Ferguson stated "My only purpose is to make Bristol, the city I love, a better city for all. I have no political ambition beyond Bristol" and he set out his seven visions for Bristol. Ferguson campaigned on a platform of anti-political parties, often alleging voting for a Labour candidate would be a return to party in-fighting.
The election was held on 15 November 2012. On 16 November 2012, Ferguson was declared Bristol's first elected mayor, beating the second-place Labour candidate Marvin Rees by more than 6,000 votes including second preference votes. The election saw a low turnout of just 27.92% of the electorate participating.
Mayor of Bristol
Ferguson became Bristol's first democratically elected mayor in November 2012. He ran as an independent and beat Labour's Marvin Rees
Marvin Rees (born April 1972) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Mayor of Bristol since 2016.
Early life and education
Marvin Rees was brought up in Bristol, partly in Lawrence Weston and Easton, by his British mother ...
by six-thousand and ninety-four votes.
During his tenure, Bristol beat Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
to become the European Green Capital for 2015.
Personal life
George Ferguson and his wife Lavinia separated in 2000 following a well publicised affair with a BBC journalist, Helen Reed, although they remain married. They have three grown children.
Ferguson has been involved in several local charities including the Avon Youth Association, Cruse, and Starfish. He was also a trustee of the University of Bristol Union
The University of Bristol Students' Union (known as Bristol SU) is the students' union of the University of Bristol, England. It is among the oldest of the UK students' unions and was a founding member of the National Union of Students . Th ...
.
Ferguson was appointed High Sheriff of Bristol when that office was revived in 1996 and served for one year. He was also previously a board member of the think tank Demos, a trustee of the Arnolfini
Arnolfini is an international arts centre and gallery in Bristol, England. It has a programme of contemporary art exhibitions, artist's performance, music and dance events, poetry and book readings, talks, lectures and cinema. There is also a ...
arts centre, and was formerly a member of the private charitable organisation The Society of Merchant Venturers.
References
External links
Ferguson Mann Architects
Acanthus
Tobacco Factory
Bristol Beer Factory
George Ferguson's blog
* ttps://soundcloud.com/g-misterg/mad-mayor-george/ Satirical Song - Mad Mayor George
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, George
1947 births
Living people
Alumni of the University of Bristol
20th-century English architects
21st-century English architects
Architects from Hampshire
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
High Sheriffs of Bristol
Mayors of Bristol
Members of the Royal West of England Academy
People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire
Presidents of the Royal Institute of British Architects
Politicians from Wiltshire
Members of the Society of Merchant Venturers