'How I represent the monarch in West Yorkshire' - Lord Lieutenant Ed Anderson on his role, the death of Queen Elizabeth II and coronation of King Charles III

Reading Ed’s CV – which includes the award of a CBE in the New Year Honours 2022 for services to the finance sector and to public life in Yorkshire – leaves you in no doubt that he’s a suitable candidate. Ed was born in Singapore in December 1950, and regularly moved around during his childhood due to his father serving in the Royal Engineers. After this nomadic early life, Ed came to Leeds in 1969, and gained a London University external degree in Economics at what is now Leeds Beckett University.

Ed – who now lives near Wetherby with his wife Heather, and has four grown-up children – had a twin-track executive career in local government and airport management. He worked for Bradford Council and then West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council, qualifying as an accountant in 1977. His last job in local government came in 1990 to 1997 when he was a member of the senior management team at Leeds City Council with responsibility for five departments.

He was assistant airport director at Leeds Bradford Airport in the early 1980s, deputy managing director at East Midlands Airport in the late 80s and then chief executive of Leeds Bradford Airport for ten years until 2007. From 2008 to 2019 Ed then chaired the Airport Operators Association, the trade body for all UK commercial airports.

Ed has sat on numerous boards as a non-executive director, most notably chairing the board of the Yorkshire Building Society for eight years, through the financial crisis, until 2015. It’s a task which he’s particularly proud of. He remembers: “It was a challenging time, but we were the third largest society going in and the second largest coming out, and we took over three other societies during that time.”

And so, what’s the key role of the Lord Lieutenant? Put simply, it’s to be the monarch’s representative within the county. Whether this is meeting and presenting awards to recipients of the Queens Awards for Enterprise and for Voluntary Service; or ‘hosting’ royal visits to the region; it’s an extremely busy and demanding role. “I might be retired, but it’s very often like having a full-time job, albeit unpaid,” Ed jokes.

“Whilst the Enterprise awards are important as they fly the flag for Yorkshire and many of the excellent businesses based here, I’m particularly passionate about the voluntary awards. There’s so much outstanding work going on in local communities which very often doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. I’m keen to raise awareness about the awards and encourage applications from as wide a base as possible.”

As well as promoting voluntary work, Ed is also passionate about ensuring the Lord Lieutenancy is as diverse as possible. “In the past, the role has been very male dominated,” Ed says. “But it’s refreshing to see that this is now changing. Across Yorkshire and the North-East, there are seven Lord Lieutenants – five of whom are female. I’ve got the remit to appoint ‘deputies’ to assist me in my day-to-day duties, and whenever I make new appointments, I ensure to take gender, faith, and individual backgrounds into consideration. On a national level, Somerset has just seen the appointment of the first Muslim Lord Lieutenant which is extremely pleasing.”

Ed realises the significance of two historic events on what he describes as his ‘watch’ – the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the coronation of King Charles III. He says: “A lot of planning was done over many years to prepare for Her Majesty’s death. Whilst obviously no one wished it to happen, we naturally had to realise that as years went by it became more and more likely. Everything ran extremely smoothly and like clockwork. During the days after her death, I knew exactly where I had to be and at what time to make various announcements and conduct various duties across the county. I was also extremely honoured to be present at the funeral which was a truly majestic occasion.”

Asked for his enduring memories of meeting the Queen and King who he’s served, Ed has no hesitation. “Just like his mother before him, King Charles is a charming, and deeply caring person, extremely interested in everyone he meets and always willing to take the time to meet as many people as possible when he’s on royal visits.”

He adds: “We’re now looking ahead to the Coronation in May, and all the logistics which need to be put in place. Whilst we still need to receive a detailed briefing about individual roles and responsibilities, I think quite a lot of our work will be to help organise, and promote, community celebrations. It’ll certainly be a historic occasion, and one which I’ll be extremely proud to play an important part in.”

Comment: Ppage 12.