Sir Merrick Richard Cockell (born 16 June 1957) is a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician in the United Kingdom, former Leader of the

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is an Inner London, Inner London boroughs, London borough with Royal borough, royal status. It is the List of English districts by area, smallest borough in London and the second smallest Districts of ...

and former Chairman of the

Local Government Association The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local authorities. Its core membership is made up of 339 English councils and the 22 Welsh councils through the Welsh Local Government Association. The LGA is p ...

. He was made a

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 t ...

in 2010.

Early life

Cockell was born on 16 June 1957 to Peter Colvile Cockell and Hildegard Christina Cockell (née Kern). He was educated at Pierrepont School, Frensham.

Career

Cockell became a trader with F. M. Barshall Ltd. From 1977 to 1982, he served the company overseas in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

, and China. In 1982 he founded and became a director of Abingdon Cockell Ltd, an import-export company, remaining with it until 2006. He has served as a director of Localis, a local government think-tank, since 2008 and as its Chairman since 2009.‘COCKELL, Sir Merrick (Richard)’, in ''Who's Who 2011'' (London: A. & C. Black, 2011) From 1999 he was also a director of Peter Barshall Ltd. In 1990, as a director of the importers Barber Cockell, he was quoted in ''China Trade Report'' as saying "Everyone was shocked by events in June last year, but in reality what occurred in

Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square (; 天安门广场; Pinyin: ''Tiān'ānmén Guǎngchǎng''; Wade–Giles: ''Tʻien1-an1-mên2 Kuang3-chʻang3'') is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the eponymous Tiananme ...

had little effect on our business even during the troubles." More recently Sir Merrick joined PA Consulting Group as a Senior Advisor. The Local Government Chronicle reported on this move in 2014 with Sir Merrick quoting: "PA Consulting Group is at the forefront of breaking down barriers between the public and private sectors and encouraging new approaches to co-operation. Having been part of the ongoing transformation of local public services, I am looking forward to working with such an innovative organisation." Sir Merrick was appointed Deputy Chairman of London Pensions Fund Authority in 2013 and made Chairman in 2015. He was appointed Executive Chairman of Cratus Communications in 2014.

Politics

In 1986, Cockell was elected as a

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

of the

Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council is the local authority for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Kensington and Chel ...

, representing the Stanley ward, in which he was Chairman of Education 1992-1995, Conservative Chief Whip 1995-2000, and Leader of the Council 2000-2013. He was Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Councillors' Association from 2005 to 2008 and its Chairman from 2008, when he also was given a seat on the Conservative Party Board. and served as a member of the Audit Commission from 2009. He was a member of the London Governance Commission from 2004 to 2006 and was Chairman of

London Councils London Councils is the local government association for Greater London, England. It is a cross-party organisation that represents London's 32 borough councils and the City of London. It was formed in 1995 as a merger of the London Boroughs Ass ...

from 2006 to 2010. In 2011 he became Chairman of the

, succeeding Baroness Eaton. He stood down on 8 July 2014. In 2015 he became the first Chairman of the UK Municipal Bonds Agency plc, a local government owned body that will issue bonds and other financial instruments to allow local authorities to borrow more competitively. In August 2015, The Mayor of London appointed Sir Merrick to be the Chairman of the Crossrail 2 Growth Commission, which reported on the economic viability of the proposed rail route linking North East and South West suburbs under central London.

Honours

Cockell was knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, 2010, "for services to local government".

References

External links

Merrick Cockell profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cockell, Merrick Richard 1957 births Living people Conservative Party (UK) councillors Councillors in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Knights Bachelor People educated at Pierrepont School, Frensham British businesspeople Leaders of local authorities of England Chairs of the Local Government Association