HIS Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London

The Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London, Sir Kenneth Olisa OBE, is His Majesty’s representative in Greater London and is charged with upholding the dignity of the Crown. Across the thirty two Boroughs (but not the City of London) he is responsible for the promotion of civic, commercial, voluntary and social activities within London and thus is part of the fabric of London in all its manifestations. By statute, Lord-Lieutenants retire at the age of 75. Below are the Lord-Lieutenant’s crest and flag (Union Flag charged with a sword fesswise, or, and ensigned with the Imperial Crown proper).

The Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London, Sir Kenneth Olisa OBE

The Queen appointed Sir Kenneth Olisa OBE as Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London to succeed Sir David Brewer KG CVO CMG on 29 May, 2015.

Sir Kenneth Olisa OBE is a businessman and philanthropist, the founder of two technology merchant banks and the first British-born black man to serve as a Director of a FTSE-100 company (Reuters). An advocate of social inclusion, he is Chair of Thames Reach, a charity working to shelter and resettle the homeless; Chair of the Shaw Trust, supporting the disabled and chronically unemployed to find work; founding Chair of the Powerlist Foundation, supporting future leaders from Black and Minority Ethnic and disadvantaged backgrounds; a former Governor of the Peabody Trust; and a former Non Executive Director of the West Lambeth NHS Trust. He was awarded a knighthood in the 2018 New Year’s Honours List. In 2019 he became President of London Youth, a member network of 450+ community youth organisations working across London, supporting tens of thousands of young Londoners each year.

Ken lives in Hampton Wick with his wife, Julia. They have two grown-up daughters and six grandchildren.

The announcement of Ken’s appointment as Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London can be found on HM Government’s website at: www.gov.uk/government/news/lord-lieutenant-for-greater-london-mr-kenneth-olisa.