Sir Gavyn Farr Arthur KStJ (13 September 1951 – 16 May 2016) was a British judge and prominent figure in the City of London who served as the 675th Lord Mayor from 2002 to 2003.

Gavyn Arthur
Sir Gavyn Arthur as Master Wax Chandler
675th Lord Mayor of London
In office
2002–2003
Metropolitan MayorKen Livingstone
Preceded bySir Michael Oliver
Succeeded bySir Robert Finch
Personal details
Born(1951-09-13)13 September 1951
Union of South Africa
Died16 May 2016 (2016-05-17) (aged 64)
London, England
NationalityBritish
RelationsSir Benjamin Arthur, Bt
ResidenceBarbican EC2
Alma materChrist Church, Oxford
OccupationLawyer
ProfessionJudge

Early life

edit

The only surviving son of Major Leonard Arthur, JP, by his wife Raina née Farr, he was educated at Harrow School before going up to Christ Church, Oxford.[1]

His father was in remainder to the baronetcy of his great-great-grandfather, Lt-Gen. Sir George Arthur, and from 2010 until his death Sir Gavyn was heir presumptive to the Arthur family title.

Career

edit

Arthur was called to the Bar in 1975 at the Middle Temple, before being appointed a Bencher in 2001.

He practised as a barrister and was appointed a Recorder in 2001 and a Circuit Judge in 2007 before promotion as a Deputy High Court Judge in 2008.[2]

He served as Alderman for the Ward of Cripplegate in the City from his election in 1991 until 2005.[3] Sir Gavyn served as Sheriff for 1998–99 and as Lord Mayor of London (2002–2003), when he was ex-officio Chancellor of City University London; he received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from City University London. He was a Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Gardeners, the Worshipful Company of Wax Chandlers, the Guild of Public Relations Practitioners, and the Guild of Freemen of the City of London.

Sir Gavyn died suddenly in May 2016.[4]

Honours

edit

Sir Gavyn Arthur was honoured by several countries. In the United Kingdom, he was appointed by the Queen a Knight Bachelor in the 2004 New Year Honours[5][6] in recognition of his services to the City of London, and a Knight of Justice (2003) in the Venerable Order of St John.

In 2003, he was awarded by the President of Georgia with the Order of Honour of the Republic of Georgia. He was invested as a Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Francis I in 2006 and was promoted in 2011 to the rank of Knight Grand Cross by decree of Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro. In 2013 he was appointed Knight Commander of the Royal Order of the Crown by King Michael I of Romania and in 2016 received the Medal of the President of the Slovak Republic for his services to British-Slovak relations.

References

edit
  1. ^ Mosley, Charles (ed.) (2003). Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 107th edn. London: Burke's Peerage & Gentry Ltd. p. 149 (ARTHUR, Bt). ISBN 0-9711966-2-1. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  2. ^ From 2008 until his death, Sir Gavyn was the Designated Family Judge in Luton Debrett's People of Today Archived 12 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ www.cityoflondon.gov.uk Archived 22 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Circuit Judge: Death in service". Government of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  5. ^ "No. 57155". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2003. p. 1.
  6. ^ "No. 57391". The London Gazette. 24 August 2004. p. 10694.
edit
Civic offices
Preceded by
 
Lord Mayor of London

2002–2003
Succeeded by