The Lord-Lieutenant is the official representative of His Majesty The King for the County and City of Leicester.
The Lord-Lieutenant maintains connections with organisations, such as the Police, Fire and Ambulance services and many voluntary bodies, such as national and local youth organisations.
Each year Mr Kapur appoints a number of young cadets to support him on ceremonial occasions.
The main duties of the Lieutenancy are to:
- Arrange visits of Members of the Royal Family and escort Royal visitors
- Present medals and awards on behalf of His Majesty
- Participate in civic, voluntary and social activity
- Liaise with local units of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army, Royal Air Force and their associated Cadet Forces
History
Lord-Lieutenants were originally appointed in Henry VIII's reign, in the 1540s, to take over the military duties of the Sheriff and control the military forces of The Crown.
Leicestershire’s first Lord-Lieutenant, Henry Grey, 3rd Marquis of Dorset KG, was appointed in 1549. He was beheaded on Tower Hill in 1554 after attempting to place his eldest daughter, Lady Jane Grey, on the throne after the death of Edward VI.
The Forces Act of 1871 transferred command of militias back to The Crown and over subsequent years the emphasis has shifted towards today's ceremonial role and wider involvement with communities throughout the Lord-Lieutenant’s County.
About the Lord-Lieutenant
Mike Kapur, as Lord-Lieutenant, is the official representative of His Majesty The King for the County and City of Leicester, and was appointed on 14 June 2018. He is a leading businessman who takes a keen and active role in developing and promoting the City and County he made his home 40 years ago. He has 28 successful years of Board Room experience in both private and public sector organisations.
Having graduated from the then Leicester Polytechnic, Mike started his executive career in 1985 at KPMG and in May 1993 he was named the East Midlands Young Project Manager of the Year by the Institute of Management. He was appointed Director of Entrepreneurial Service at Ernst & Young in 1996 before moving to Parker Plant Limited as Group Finance Director.
In 2002 Mike founded Signum Corporate Communications Ltd where he still retains responsibility for ensuring that all aspects of company strategy are implemented and performance managed.
In 2009 he was appointed Chairman of National Space Centre as well as joining the Board of De Montfort University, becoming Deputy Chairman and Pro Chancellor in 2012.
His qualities as a business leader were recognised by the Confederation of British Industry in 2013 when he was appointed to lead the CBI’s policy work in respect of SME’s and act as the National figurehead for SME members and their issues including interfacing with Government and the European Commission on their behalf.
In 2014 Mike was named Non-Executive Director of The Year and in 2016 he became Chair of Trustees of Leicester City Football Club Trust.
Mike has always been a strong advocate of public service and is a Trustee of Warning Zone and National Forest Company. Formerly he was a Governor of Derby College Group and a Trustee of National Learning and Work Institute.
He served as a Deputy Lieutenant of Leicestershire from 2015 before being appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire in 2018, and in 2017 was made an OBE for Services to Science, Technology, Business and Enterprise.
