Emma Edhem (born August 1966) is an

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 ...

in 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 local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's f ...

representing the ward of

Candlewick Candlewick may refer to: *Candle wick, a part of a candle or oil lamp *Candlewick, a style of glassware made by the Imperial Glass Company * Candlewick (fabric), a thick, soft cotton fabric *Candlewick, an element in financial candlestick charts ...

. She is also Professor in Practice for Finance at

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

, and a practicing barrister. Since June 2020, Edhem became Vice President for Greater London and Chairman of City in the Order of St. John. In April 2021, she became Master of the Bench for Distinguished Barristers at the Honourable Society of Gray's Inn. She has also held the position of Deputy Head of International Law at No5 Barristers Chambers since September 2014. In 2012, Edhem became the first woman to hold the post of Chairman of the Turkish British Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TBCCI). In 2011, Edhem served as counsel for Turkish Prime Minister

Recep Tayyip Erdogan Recep is a Turkish name deriving from the Arabic name Rajab. It may refer to: People Surname * Aziz Recep (born 1992), German-Greek footballer * Sibel Recep (born 1987), Swedish pop singer Given name * Recep Adanır (1929–2017), Turkish fo ...

in a successful libel case against the

Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...

. Edhem previously served as Common Councilman for the ward of

Castle Baynard Castle Baynard is one of the 25 wards of the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London, England. Features The ward covers an irregularly shaped area, sometimes likened to a tuning fork, bounded on the east by the wards of ...

prior to becoming Alderman; and is a

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

Early life

Emma Edhem was born in London, England and received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a Member institutions of the University of London, constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The G ...

, University of London and continued her education to receive a postgraduate diploma ( CPE) in law at

City, University of 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" an ...

. Edhem was called to the Bar in 1993, where she was in pupilage to Michael Latham before she was made a member of chambers of 4 King's Bench Walk of the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

. She was subsequently made Ad Eundem member of the Inner Temple.

Election to Court of Common Council

On Thursday, 20 February 2014, Emma Edhem was elected to the

Court of Common Council The Court of Common Council is the primary decision-making body of the City of London Corporation. It meets nine times per year. Most of its work is carried out by committees. City of London Corporation elections , Elections are held at least eve ...

in the Ward of

after a contested by-election and the resignation of Raymond Catt. Edhem won 80% of the votes, and became one of eight Common Councilmen to serve the ward. At the time of the election, Edhem was serving as a barrister at No5 Chambers, and Chairman of the Turkish British Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Edhem was re-elected as Councilman on 23 March 2017.

Election to Court of Alderman

On Thursday, 12 July 2018, Emma Edhem defeated her competitors, James de Sausmarez, William Charnley and Johnathan Bewes to become Alderman for the ward of Candlewick, and joined 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 or her year of office). ...

. The Aldermanic seat was vacated by Dame Fiona Woolf earlier in the year. deSausmarez was a Councillor for Candlewick since 2015. Edhem at the time was an elected

Councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

for the ward of Castle Baynard, and serving as Deputy Head of the International Law Group at No5 Barristers Chambers. Edhem became only the fifth woman in history to take a seat as Alderman of the City of London.

Professional life

Edhem sits on 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 ...

's Court of Aldermen, General Purposes Committee, Nominations Committee to the Court of Aldermen, Court of Common Council, Finance Committee, Efficiency and Performance sub committee for Finance,

Bridge House Estates City Bridge Foundation is the working name of the historic Bridge House Estates, which originated in the late eleventh century and was formally established by royal charter in 1282 by the City of London Corporation in London, England. It is a reg ...

, Community and Children’s Committee, the

City of London Police The City of London Police is the territorial police force#United Kingdom, territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, England, including the Middle Temple, Middle and Inner Temple, Inner Temples. The for ...

Authority Board, Economic and Cyber Crime Board, Professional Standard and Integrity of the City Police, and Tackling Racism Task Force. She is also Court Assistant of the

Worshipful Company of Woolmen The Worshipful Company of Woolmen is one of the livery companies in the City of London. It is known to have existed in 1180, making it one of the older livery companies of the city. It was officially incorporated in 1522. The company's original m ...

, Worshipful Company of Educators, Vice President of the Greater London Priory Group and Chairman of the City Branch of the Order of St John. She is a practicing barrister at No5 Chambers, where she is deputy head of international law. She is also chair of the Turkish British Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the first woman to hold the position. She co-founded the Azerbaijani British Law Association, and served as President of the Turkish British Legal Society from 2002 until 2013. In December 2019, she was presented her Coat of Arms by the

Windsor Herald Windsor Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. It has been suggested that the office was instituted specifically for the Order of the Garter in 1348, or that it predates the Order and was in use as ea ...

, John Allen-Petrie.

Video

Feel the fear, and do it anyway
Video for Turkish Turkish Women's International Network, (2016)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edhem, Emma Living people 1966 births 20th-century English women lawyers 21st-century English women lawyers Academics of Durham University Alumni of City, University of London Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Councilmen of the City of London English barristers English people of Turkish Cypriot descent Lawyers from London