Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas, (born 18 October 1948) is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

-born British solicitor, local government politician and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

. She is currently the Chancellor of Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln, England, and has been the first woman to hold a number of public roles in the United Kingdom such as a two-year term as Provost of

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

and chair of the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

Early life

Born and educated in

, Judith Mayhew was the daughter of Bill and Joyce Mayhew. She attended Corstorphine Primary School in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

and

Otago Girls' High School , motto_translation = The Right Education Makes The Heart As Strong As Oak , type = State , grades = 9 - 13 , grades_label = Years , gender = Girls-only , established = ; years ago , address = 41 Tennyson Street ...

graduating

LLM A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

from the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate ...

Career

She lectured at Otago before moving to the UK as a lecturer in law at the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

and then King's College London, from 1976 to 1989, where she set up and became director of the Anglo-French Law Degree (

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

), the first joint degree in Europe. In 1986, she entered private practice as an employment lawyer, rising to become special adviser to the chairman at Clifford Chance, a global law firm. In 2006, she was appointed to the board of directors of Merrill Lynch. She was closely involved in the running of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

from 1986. In that year she was elected to the

City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...

and chaired the corporation's Policy and Resources Committee from 1996 to 2003. From 2001 she was City and Business Advisor to Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London. Mayhew Jonas served on a number of boards of educational and cultural institutions. In 1999 she was appointed chair of governors at Birkbeck, University of London. She was Provost of

from 2003-05, the first woman to hold this post. She was the first woman to chair the

. She is a trustee of the Imperial War Museum and of the Urban Land Institute, and co-chair of the British Dutch Dialogues, the Apeldoorn Conference. In 2008, she became Provost (Chancellor) of Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln, England. Mayhew Jonas features in a film series, ''Dreamcatchers,'' about successful expatriate New Zealanders.

Honours and awards

Mayhew Jonas was awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

by the

in 1998. She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire ( DBE) in the 2002 Birthday Honours "for services to the City of London". In 2004, she was made New Zealander of the Year in Britain. She was Global Award Winner at the New Zealand Women of Influence Awards in 2015.

Personal

She married Christopher Jonas, an English property consultant, in 2003.

References

External links

Cambridge University website
accessed 18 February 2017.
Profile
chathamhouse.org; accessed 18 February 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayhew Jonas, Judith 1948 births Living people British legal scholars University of Paris faculty People associated with Birkbeck, University of London People associated with Imperial College London Academics of King's College London Provosts of King's College, Cambridge University of Otago faculty University of Otago alumni New Zealand Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand expatriates in the United Kingdom Merrill (company) people Place of birth missing (living people) People associated with Bishop Grosseteste University New Zealand Women of Influence Award recipients