Sir David William Brewer (28 May 1940 – 28 May 2023) was a British marine insurance broker who served as

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

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

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

(2008–15).

Early life

Born in 1940, Brewer grew up in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

and was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

and St Paul's School,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He later studied at the

University of Grenoble The (, ''Grenoble Alps University'', abbr. UGA) is a Grands établissements, ''grand établissement'' in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 researchers. Es ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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

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 a sub-branch of mari ...

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

Sedgwick Collins in 1959. In 1976 he went to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

to open the Sedgwick Group's Japan office and lived there for three years. He set up its group office in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

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 ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

in 1986. He was non-executive vice-chairman of Marsh Ltd., the company which bought Sedgwick, from 2007 to 2009 and a director or consultant for various insurance companies. He was

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the China-Britain Business Council until 2013 and held non-executive directorships of LIFFE Administration and Management (2009–2023), Tullett Prebon SITICO (China) (2006–2023) and the National Bank of Kuwait (International) (2007–2023).

Public service

Brewer was appointed a magistrate (JP) in 1979. Prior to serving as

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

for the Ward of

Bassishaw Bassishaw is a Wards of the City of London, ward in the City of London. Small, it is bounded by wards: Coleman Street, east; Cheap (ward), Cheap, south; Cripplegate, north; Aldersgate, west. It first consisted of Basinghall Street with the cour ...

1996–2010, he was a Common Councilman in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

; and was

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

of the

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

for 2002/3. His term of office as 678th

was 2005/06, and from 2008 to 2015 he served as HM's Representative for

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

lord-lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility o ...

Public life

Brewer was a Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors and of the Blacksmiths' Company, as well as being a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Insurers;

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

- Cornish Association since 2005, Sir David was also Chairman of the Central Council of the Royal Over-Seas League from 2017 until his death.

Personal life

In 1985, Brewer married Tessa Jordá, daughter of Enrique Jordá; they had two daughters (Olivia and Gabriella). A former President of the Chartered Institute of Linguists, Lady Brewer was appointed OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for her work as

Chairwoman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the City of London Festival. A member of

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

, Sir David listed his recreations as music, golf and chocolate, as well as paronomasia (punning)! Sir David and Lady Brewer divided their time between homes at Hellandbridge, near

Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

and in

. Brewer died on 28 May 2023, his 83rd birthday.

Honours

Brewer was appointed a Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(CMG) in the 1999 Birthday Honours for "services to Export" and a Knight of the Order of St John (KStJ) in 2005. He 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 The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

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

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

(CVO) for his "services as Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London" and then, on 23 April 2016, a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter (KG). Sir David received

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 ...

s from a number of

universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, ''i.e.'' in 2008 from respectively the

City University London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" and ...

(Hon. LLD),

SOAS University of London The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) 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 area ...

(Hon.

DSc DSC or Dsc may refer to: Education * 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 * Dyal Sin ...

) and the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

(Hon. LLD), and in 2013 from the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

(Hon. LLD).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 (1999–2007) ** The Right Hon Lord Mayor of London (2005/06) * Sir David Brewer CMG JP (2007–2015) * Sir David Brewer CMG CVO JP (2015–2016) * Sir David Brewer KG CMG CVO JP (2016–2023).

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 2023 deaths People from Helland Businesspeople awarded knighthoods People educated at St Paul's School, London Grenoble Alpes University alumni Knights Bachelor Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Sheriffs of the City of London 21st-century lord mayors of London Lord-lieutenants of Greater London Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Knights of Justice of the Order of St John Knights of the Garter