Sir David William Brewer, (born 28 May 1940) is an English marine insurance broker who served as

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 ...

(2005–06)London Lieutenancy
Sir David Brewer profile
and Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London to

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

(2008–15).

Early life

Brewer grew up in Hampstead and was educated at St Paul's School,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He later studied at the

University of Grenoble The Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA, French: meaning "''Grenoble Alps University''") is a public research university in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 resea ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

.SOAS:
Presentation speech on conferring honorary degree (2008)
/ref>

Career

Business

Brewer began his 50-year career with

marine insurance Marine insurance covers the physical loss or damage of ships, cargo, terminals, and any transport by which the property is transferred, acquired, or held between the points of origin and the final destination. Cargo insurance is the sub-branch o ...

company Sedgwick Collins in 1959. In 1976 he went to Tokyo to open the Sedgwick Group's Japan office and lived there for 3 years. He set up its group office in China in 1981, obtaining the first broker's authorisation in 1993. He also opened the company's representative office in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

in 1986. He was Non-Executive Vice-Chairman of Marsh Ltd., the company which bought Sedgwick, from 2007–09. He has been a director or consultant for various insurance companies. He was Chairman of the China-Britain Business Council until 2013 and holds Non-Executive Directorships of LIFFE Administration and Management (2009–present), Tullett Prebon SITICO (China) (2006–present) and the

National Bank of Kuwait The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) was founded in 1952. It is the largest financial institution in Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It ...

(International) (2007–present).

Public service

Brewer was appointed as a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

in 1979. Prior to serving as

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 ...

of the

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

Bassishaw Bassishaw is a ward in the City of London. Small, it is bounded by wards: Coleman Street, east; Cheap, south; Cripplegate, north; Aldersgate, west. It first consisted of Basinghall Street with the courts and short side streets off it,

1996–2010, he was a Common Councilman in 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 ...

; and was

ic Sheriff of the

City A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in 2002/3. His term of office as

was 2005–06, and from 2008 to 2015 was HM's representative in Greater London as Lord Lieutenant.

Public life

Brewer is a Past Master of the

Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors ] The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors is one of the 110 Livery company, livery companies of the City of London. The Company, originally known as the ''Guild and Fraternity of St John the Baptist in the City of London'', was founded prio ...

as well as of the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths, Blacksmiths' Company, and a Liveryman of the

Worshipful Company of Insurers The Worshipful Company of Insurers is one of the 110 Livery Companies of the City of London. It ranks 92nd in the City Livery Companies' order of precedence. Its motto is ''Omnium Defensor'', Latin for ''Protector of All'' and its church is St ...

; he has been President of the London Cornish Association since 2005. Sir David has been since 2017 the Chairman of the Central Council of the Royal Over-Seas League.

Personal life

In 1985, Brewer married Tessa Jordá, daughter of

Enrique Jordá Enrique Jordá (March 24, 1911 – March 18, 1996) was a Spanish-American conductor. Born in San Sebastián (Guipúzcoa, Spain), later on he was a naturalized US citizen. After conducting in Madrid, Cape Town and Antwerp, he was music direc ...

and President of the

Chartered Institute of Linguists Founded as the Institute of Linguists in 1910, the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL) received its Royal Charter in 2005, and is a professional association for language professionals. CIOL supports linguists throughout their careers, and pro ...

. They have two daughters (Olivia and Gabriella). Lady Brewer was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for her work as Chairwoman of the

City of London Festival The City of London Festival was an annual arts festival that took place in the City of London, England, over two to three weeks in June and July. The Festival was strongly geared towards classical music, but also offered a programme that included ...

. He lists his recreations as music, golf and chocolate. Another activity he claims to enjoy is

paronomasia A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophonic ...

(puns). He is a member of

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

. Sir David and Lady Brewer have a home at

Hellandbridge Hellandbridge is a hamlet in Cornwall, England, UK. It is about a mile west-northwest of the village of Helland (where the population at the 2011 census was included ) on the River Camel The River Camel ( kw, Dowr Kammel, meaning ''crooked ...

, near Bodmin, in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

Honours

Brewer was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1999 Birthday Honours for "services to Export" and made a

Knight of the Order of St John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

(KStJ) in 2005. He subsequently was knighted in the 2007 New Year Honours for "services to the City of London" and awarded the same year the Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon of the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun.

Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs The is an executive department of the Government of Japan, and is responsible for the country's foreign policy and international relations. The ministry was established by the second term of the third article of the National Government Organi ...

(MOFA)
2007 Autumn Conferment of Decorations on Foreign Nationals, p. 3
/ref> In the 2015 New Year Honours he was made a

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(CVO) for his "services as Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London" and on 23 April 2016 appointed a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter (KG). He furthermore received honorary doctorates from a number of universities, i.e. in 2008 from respectively the

City University London City, University of London, is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, and a member institution of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute, and became a university when The City Univ ...

(honorary LLD degree),

SOAS University of London SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury a ...

(honorary

DSc DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...

degree) and the

University of Exeter , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

(honorary LLD degree), and in 2013 from the

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

(honorary LLD degree).Press releases 2013: Recognising exceptional achievement
- website of the University of Nottingham Coat of Arms of Sir David Brewer

Styles

* David Brewer (1940–1979) * David Brewer JP (1979–1999) * David Brewer CMG JP (1999–2005) * David Brewer CMG JP KStJ (2005-2007) ** The Right Hon Lord Mayor of London (2005–2006) * Sir David Brewer CMG JP KStJ (2007–2015) * Sir David Brewer CMG CVO JP KStJ (2015–2016) * Sir David Brewer KG CMG CVO JP KStJ (2016–present)

References

Sources

* Seib, Christine
"Business big shot: Sir David Brewer"
''The Times'' (London). 3 February 2007.

External links

Greater London Lieutenancy

www.cityoflondon.gov.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brewer, David 1940 births Living people People from Helland People educated at St Paul's School, London Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Knights Bachelor Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Sheriffs of the City of London 21st-century lord mayors of London Lord-Lieutenants of Greater London Knights of Justice of the Order of St John Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Knights of the Garter