Lord Mayor Blackmore

1.01.00am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 21st May 2009

Cllr. Roger Blackmore - New lord Mayor of Leicester

Roger Blackmore is now the second Liberal Democrat to become Mayor of the City of Leicester.

Councillor Roger Blackmore was born in Oxfordshire and grew up on the family farm in North Devon. He came to Leicester University and gained a BA in Social Sciences in 1963. He went on to become a Personnel and Training Officer with the Imperial Typewriter Company. In 1968 he was appointed to the post of Lecturer at Charles Keene College where he taught for 27 years, becoming Head of Adult Training in 1984. He has also taught at Wyggeston Queen Elizabeth College and De Montfort University.

The Lord Mayor was a Parliamentary candidate on six occasions during the 1970s and 1980s, campaigning extensively on environmental issues, including the case for introducing renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, wave and tidal power. For several years he also served on both the Liberal Party's National Executive Committee and its Environment Panel. He is a former Chairman of the East Midlands Liberal Democrats and has been the Party's regional spokesperson on the environment.

Cllr. Blackmore has represented Western Park Ward for 16 years, initially as a County Councillor and in 1995 as a member of the City Council. He was twice Leader of the City Council between 2003 and 2007. In May 2008 he became Deputy Lord Mayor of Leicester and in this capacity has attended a variety of events across the city. Currently a school governor at Ellesmere Special School he has also served on the governing body of Leicester Adult Education College. The new Lord Mayor is a former President of the East Midlands Liberal Democrats.

Cllr. Blackmore has written and broadcast on a variety of topics including local history, family history, the English countryside and political and educational issues. He is a member of Amnesty International, English Heritage and the Thomas Hardy Society. He is also a keen photographer.

The Lord Mayor's theme of the mayoral year is The Stewardship of the Environment.