Sir John Rawcliffe Airey Crabtree, (born 5 August 1949) is an English lawyer and businessman, a former High Sheriff of the West Midlands and current

Lord Lieutenant of the West Midlands This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of West Midlands since the creation of that office on 1 April 1974. *Charles Ian Finch-Knightley, 11th Earl of Aylesford 1 April 1974 – 1993 * Sir Robert Richard Taylor 16 December 1 ...

. He is chair of the organising committee of the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

and holds or has held a number of business and charity directorships and chairs.

Early life

Crabtree was born on 5 August 1949 to Norman Lloyd and Joyce Mary Crabtree, and was educated at The Downs School, Colwall, and

Radley College Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley, is a public school (independent boarding school for boys) near Radley, Oxfordshire, England, which was founded in 1847. The school covers including playing fields, a golf course, a lake, an ...

. He graduated in law from the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

in 1972.

Career

Crabtree joined the Birmingham solicitors Wragge & Co in 1973, retiring as a senior partner in 2003. He served as a Deputy Lieutenant of the West Midlands county in 2005, and as High Sheriff of the West Midlands in 2006/2007. He was President of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry and as a director of

Advantage West Midlands Advantage West Midlands was established in 1999 as one of nine regional development agencies (RDAs) in England. RDAs were created by the UK Government to drive sustainable economic development and social and physical regeneration through a bus ...

. Since January 2017, has been the

. As of 2022, he is a director of

Birmingham Organising Committee for the 2022 Commonwealth Games Limited The Birmingham Organising Committee for the 2022 Commonwealth Games (BOCCG) is the organisation responsible for overseeing the planning and development of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. It was jointly established by the UK Government's Department for ...

, and chairs the games' organising committee, a position to which he was appointed in 2018 by the then Prime Minister,

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cabi ...

. He gave an address at the games' closing ceremony. He is a special adviser to White & Black, the corporate and technology law firm founded in 2007 by Phil Riman. He holds a number of business directorships, including chairmanship of

Glenn Howells Architects Glenn Paul Howells (born 15 July 1961) is a British architect and a director and founder of Glenn Howells Architects. Early life Howells was born in Stourbridge, England and educated in Plymouth. Practice His practice, Glenn Howells Archit ...

. He is president of the Heart of England Community Foundation, and a past chairman (2008–2017) of the charity

Sense, The National Deafblind and Rubella Association Sense is a charitable organization based in the United Kingdom. The charity exists to support people who are deafblind or who have a hearing or vision impairment and another disability and campaigns for the rights of disabled people in the UK. ...

, and of

Birmingham Hippodrome The Birmingham Hippodrome is a theatre situated on Hurst Street in the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England. Although best known as the home stage of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, it also hosts a wide variety of other performances including vi ...

(2001–2017).

Honours and awards

Crabtree was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the

2007 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2007 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 17 June 2007, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2007.Antigua & Barbuda list: The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and ...

for services to SENSE. He holds honorary doctorates from both the

and

Birmingham City University , mottoeng = "Do what you are doing; attend to your business" , established = 1992—gained university status1971—City of Birmingham Polytechnic1843—Birmingham College of Art , type = Public , affiliation = ...

. He was voted "Lawyer of the Year" in the 2003 Legal Business Awards. In 2012, he was given a lifetime achievement award in the Birmingham Post Business Awards. He was knighted in the

2023 New Year Honours The 2023 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to sport and to the community in the West Midlands.

Personal life

Crabtree and his wife, Diana, live in Crowle, Worcestershire. He is father to three daughters and three sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crabtree, John Living people High Sheriffs of the West Midlands Lord-Lieutenants of the West Midlands Officers of the Order of the British Empire English lawyers 1949 births Knights Bachelor Lawyers awarded knighthoods Leaders of organizations Business people from Worcestershire Alumni of the University of Birmingham People educated at Radley College People educated at The Downs School, Herefordshire