2007 COUNCILLOR GARY GLENDON HUNT
(CONSULTANT)
(549)
The Lord Mayor was born in Leicester on 20 June 1956, both of his parents were from the City. He was educated at Overdale Infants and Junior Schools and Lancaster Boys’ School. He later studied accountancy at Leicester College, Wigston.
After leaving school Councillor Hunt worked for the East Midlands Gas Board in a clerically based capacity prior to embarking on a career in the design world. He set up his own company in 1990. Formerly a Managing Director of a design and project management company, by 2007 the Lord Mayor was acting as a consultant on design work and was running his own company, Huntsman Partnership.
He married Miss Angela Mason, also of Leicester and had two children Christopher, and Rachel,
Councillor Hunt was elected to the City Council in 1987 as a Liberal member for the Knighton Ward and was the second representative of his party to serve on the Leicester City Council in the modern era. He became a Liberal Democrat Councillor in 1988 when the Liberal Party became the Liberal Democrat Party nationally. He served as a Cabinet Link Member with responsibility for the Planning, Regeneration, Highways and Environment function of the Authority. In addition Councillor Hunt served as a Board Member for East Midlands Development Agency where he was responsible for urban regeneration throughout the East Midlands.
His other interests included modern art and the theatre, motor sport, modern literature and classical music.
He was appointed Deputy Lord Mayor of the City on 18 May 2006 for the year 2006/2007.
Councillor Hunt was elected to the office of Lord Mayor of the City on 17 May 2007. In doing so he became the first Liberal Lord Mayor of the City for 67 years following in the footsteps of Councillor William Joseph Cort in 1940. He also held the distinction of becoming the City’s first Liberal Democrat Lord Mayor.
The Lord Mayor chose his son Christopher and daughter Rachel, to be his Consorts. Christopher was a 6th form pupil at Guthlaxton College, Wigston and Rachel attended Abington High School, Wigston. Christopher was keen on music and sport and his sister was a keen musician. Both of the Lord Mayor’s children played in the Leicestershire School’s Symphony Orchestra.
Councillor Hunt was privileged to meet a number of members of the Royal Family during his Year of Office. On 11 September 2007 he met His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex when he visited Leicester to officially open the award winning Brite Community Centre on Braunstone Avenue, which had functioned as a new community resource since January 2007.
On 18 September 2007 the Lord Mayor welcomed Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester when she officially opened the Knighton Tennis Centre. This was Leicester’s first purpose-built indoor tennis centre and was situated in the grounds of Sir Jonathan North Community College, Knighton Lane East.
The Lord Mayor had the distinction of meeting Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, on 8 February 2008, when they visited the refurbished Newarke Houses Museum of Social History which incorporated the new Regimental Museum of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment. Their Royal Highnesses then visited the Walkers Stadium where they met young members of the Prince’s Trust and representatives of fifteen businesses supported by the Prince’s Trust. The final visit of Their Royal Highnesses was to St Philip’s Church and Community Centre, Evington Road, Leicester where they met representatives of various faiths involved with the Centre.
The City’s important twinning links were further strengthened during Councillor Hunt’s Year of Office. A Civic Visit from Masaya, Nicaragua took place in September 2007, the delegation was led by the Mayor of Masaya Ing. Orlando Naguera and the purpose of the visit related to a new joint project and to celebrate the Twentieth Anniversary of the link between Leicester and Masaya. The Lord Mayor hosted a Civic Dinner in honour of his guests, the Mayors of Masaya and Niquinohome and the Nicaraguan visitors on 26 September.
This was followed by a visit to the City of a delegation from Rajkot Municipal Corporation to maintain the widening links between Leicester and the Indian city. In April 2008 the Lord Mayor led a trade delegation from Leicester to the Indian state of Gujarat.
Significant developments also took place in relation to the growing links with Haskovo. Councillor Hunt paid a civic visit to the Bulgarian Municipality in September 2007, to mark the Haskovo Day celebrations of which Leicester Day was an integral part. Three months later a delegation from Haskovo visited Leicester.
On 21 January 2008, the Lord Mayor hosted a Civic Dinner to honour Jeremy Hill following his retirement as Ambassador to the Republic of Bulgaria and in recognition of the support he had provided to Leicester City Council and Leicestershire organisations involved with Bulgaria.
On 3 March 2008, Councillor Hunt attended a reception at the Bulgarian Embassy at 187 Queen’s Gate, London and on 10 March the signing of the Haskovo Twinning Agreement took place at a ceremony in the Town Hall. A Twinning Charter and Friendship Pledge was signed between Leicester and Haskovo to mark the commencement of a 10 year link between the two cities. Haskovo was represented by its Mayor, Georgi Ivanov and the ceremony was also attended by the Bulgarian Ambassador, His Excellency Dr Lachezar Matev.
The Lord Mayor also welcomed three parties of students from Strasbourg and groups of trainees, apprentices and students from Krefeld to the Town Hall.
A number of other important visitors to Leicester included the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, His Excellency Robert Holme Tuttle on 24 October 2007.
The following month, the Lord Mayor welcomed the Prime Minister of Barbuda, the Honourable Baldwin Spencer who met members of the Antiguan and Barbudan community whilst in Leicester. Councillor Hunt hosted a luncheon for the Prime Minister on 28 November 2007.
The Lord Mayor also received the Assistant High Commissioner of Bangladesh and the Mayor of Dramman, Oslo, Norway at the Town Hall.
On 16 October 2007, Councillor Hunt hosted a Civic Reception for thirty European visitors as part of the ARTCETRA project (Sharing Cultural Enrichment Through the Arts).
Other visitors included two delegations from south west China, a group of Sicilian language students and a party of 85 Norwegian educators. There were also parties of students from Japan and Spain, twelve Junior Governors from Turkey plus a party of 80 students, undergraduates and post-graduates from the University of Leicester.
In December 2007 Leicester’s international singing star Englebert Humperdinck visited the Lord Mayor for afternoon tea at the Town Hall.
The City’s connections with the two universities were extended when, on 21 August 2007, the Lord Mayor hosted a Civic Dinner at The Case Restaurant in honour of the Vice Chancellor of De Montfort University, Professor Philip Tasker and the Vice Chancellor of Leicester University, Professor Robert Burgess.
The long established military links were further strengthened when, on 3 April 2008, the Lord Mayor gave a Civic Reception at the Town Hall to mark the centenary of the formation of the Territorial Army. Representatives from the five units of the Territorial Army based in Leicester were invited and some eighty military personnel attended the event.
On 12 May 2008, Councillor Hunt, hosted a Civic Dinner in honour of General Sir John McColl, the Colonel of the Royal Anglian Regiment.
Three important sporting events were celebrated during Councillor Hunt’s Year of Office. Firstly, on 25 September 2007, he hosted a Civic Reception at the Town Hall for the players and officials of Leicester Football Club (The Tigers) to mark the club’s double success in winning the EDF Energy Cup and the Guinness Premiership League Trophy in the season 2006/07.
On 18 January 2008 Councillor Hunt hosted a Civic Dinner for the ACES (European Capitals of Sport) delegation following the Leicester City Council Sport and Integration Conference. The Lord Mayor received an award in recognition of Leicester being chosen as the European City of Sport 2008 and was made Vice President of the Association.
This was followed by a further Civic Reception on 4 March 2008 to celebrate World Cup and Olympic successes. The occasion acknowledged and celebrated the achievements by local competitors in a range of sporting activities.
Other important events included the celebration of the 900th Anniversary of the First Charter to the Freemen of Leicester. A Gala Banquet was held at the Holiday Inn on 8 September 2007 followed by a Service at the Church of St Mary de Castro the next day. The Lord Mayor, as President of the Gild of Freemen of Leicester, hosted a Civic Reception at the Guildhall after the church service.
On 20 November 2007 the Lord Mayor hosted an Afternoon Tea, at the Town Hall, to commemorate the 60th Wedding Anniversary of Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. Nineteen couples, who too were celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of their marriages during 2007, were invited as the guests of Councillor Hunt to celebrate their anniversaries on the date of the Queen’s Diamond Wedding Anniversary.
A highly significant event in the City’s civic history occurred during Councillor Hunt’s Mayoralty following the decision of the City Council, in October 2007, to confer the title of Honorary Alderman upon eight former councillors. The ceremonial honour, which was awarded in recognition of the public service given by the recipients, was marked by the presentation of official Badges of Office by the Lord Mayor. This was followed by a Civic Dinner in honour of the newly appointed Honorary Alderman given by the Lord Mayor on 31 March 2008.
The Lord Mayor’s Appeal was for Rainbows, the East Midlands Children’s Hospice, 2007 being the launch of the organisations’ ‘Building for the Future’ appeal to expand the Hospice and develop the facilities it offered. Councillor Hunt’s appeal raised the sum of £21,440.
Councillor Hunt’s Year of Office was concluded on 15 May 2008.
