Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Robert Gerard Finch (20 August 1944 – 31 March 2016) was a British businessman, lawyer, and

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...

from 23 July 2003 to 22 July 2004. Born in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, Finch was educated at

Felsted School (Keep your Faith) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Chris Townsend , r_head_l ...

and the College of Law. He joined

Linklaters Linklaters LLP is a multinational law firm, headquartered in London, England. Founded in 1838, it is a member of the " Magic Circle" of elite London-headquartered law firms. It currently employs over 5,000 lawyers across 31 offices in 21 coun ...

in 1969, progressed to Partner in 1974, and Head of

Real Estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

from 1997 to 1999. Linklaters' most Senior Partner, he left the firm on 1 July 2005 to become Chairman of property developer

Liberty International Intu Properties plc was a British real estate investment trust (REIT), largely focused on shopping centre management and development. Originally named Liberty International plc, it changed its name in May 2010 to Capital Shopping Centres Group p ...

, overseeing its transition to a

REIT A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of commercial real estate, including office and apartment buildings, warehouses, hospitals, shopping ce ...

when the status was first introduced. He was

Alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

for the City Ward of Coleman Street, having first been elected to represent Coleman Street in 1992. He became a Sheriff in 1999, Master of the Solicitors' Company in 2000, and

in 2003. In 2008, following a change to the voting system to the

Court of Aldermen The Court of Aldermen forms part of the senior governance of the City of London Corporation. It comprises twenty-five aldermen of the City of London, presided over by the Lord Mayor (becoming senior alderman during his year of office). The Co ...

, he was successfully challenged by a previously unheard-of young lawyer, Matthew Richardson (''now''

), in a close-fought campaign. Finch admitted to having overspent on the campaign, by not declaring the use of

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

company car A company car is a vehicle which companies or organisations lease or own and which employees use for their personal and business travel. Take-home vehicle is a vehicle which can be taken home by company employees. Depending on the company, company ...

and chauffeur. When challenged, in ''Finch and another v Richardson'' (2008), a judge ruled that

ignorance of the law In law, (Latin for "ignorance of the law excuses not"),''Black's Law Dictionary'', 5th Edition, pg. 672 or ("ignorance of law excuses no one"),''Black's Law Dictionary'', 5th Edition, pg. 673 is a legal principle holding that a person who is un ...

could constitute by virtue of inadvertence a defence in electoral law: a point that hitherto existed in Scots law and

Northern Ireland law The law of Northern Ireland is the legal system of statute and common law operating in Northern Ireland since the partition of Ireland established Northern Ireland as a distinct jurisdiction in 1921. Prior to 1921, Northern Ireland was part of ...

, but not in English law. Finch was appointed

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

in 2004 for "services to the City of London". He died on 31 March 2016 at the age of 71 after a short illness.FINCH
/ref>

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finch, Robert 1944 births 2016 deaths British solicitors Anglo-Indian people People educated at Felsted School Sheriffs of the City of London Councilmen and Aldermen of the City of London 21st-century lord mayors of London Knights Bachelor Knights of Justice of the Order of St John