Richard Andrew Arthur (born 24 March 1944) is a former

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

politician in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He was the Leader of

Camden London Borough Council Camden London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Camden in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Camden is divided into 18 wards, each electing th ...

from 1993 to 2000 and a councillor for

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

(1971–1974), Belsize (1974–1976) and

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisati ...

(1990–2002).

Personal life

Arthur was born in 24 March 1944 to Cicely Gertrude Arthur (née Blackman, 11 May 1905 – July 1996) and Cyril Stuart Arthur (15 January 1907 – 31 March 1986). He has an MA in Economics from

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

and an MSc in Business from the

London Business School London Business School (LBS) is a business school and a constituent college of the federal University of London. LBS was founded in 1964 and awards post-graduate degrees (Master's degrees in management and finance, MBA and PhD). Its motto is " ...

. Arthur married Diana Thompson in 1968 and the couple had one son and one daughter before being divorced. In 1986 he married again to Akiko Shindo. Arthur lives in Highgate, London. He lists his recreations as swimming, gardening, reading, travel and tai ji.

Political career

Arthur was first elected to Camden Council in 1971 representing the Bloomsbury ward. At the next election, in 1974, he moved to be elected in the Belsize ward, before resigning from the council in 1974. He moved to

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

for ten years. Arthur was elected to Camden Council for a second time in 1990, representing Highgate ward. He became the Leader of the council in 1993, replacing Julie Fitzgerald, beating Phil Turner by just three votes. Arthur was the longest serving Leader of the Council in Camden's history before being replaced by

Jane Roberts Dorothy Jane Roberts (May 8, 1929 – September 5, 1984) was an American author, poet, psychic, and spirit medium, who channeled a personality who called himself "Seth." Her publication of the Seth texts, known as the ''Seth Material'', establ ...

in 2000. He then unsuccessfully stood to be the Labour candidate for Barnet and Camden on the newly created

Greater London Authority The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the metonym "City Hall", is the devolved regional governance body of Greater London. It consists of two political branches: the executive Mayoralty (currently led by Sadiq Khan) and the ...

. Arthur stood down as a councillor in 2002. Arthur was the Chairman of the

Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health, substance misuse services and care for people with learning disabilities in part of London, England. It operates on over twenty sites in Camden and Islington, but by far the larg ...

from 2009 to 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arthur, Richard Leaders of local authorities of England Councillors in the London Borough of Camden Labour Party (UK) councillors Living people 1944 births