John Bush (Lord Lieutenant)

John Barnard Bush OBE CStJ JP (born Marlborough, Wiltshire, 1937) is the current Lord Lieutenant of the English county of Wiltshire, serving since 2004. He had previously been the county's High Sheriff.

Career

Outside public service, Bush is a career farmer, owning a mixed farm at Heywood in West Wiltshire.

Bush served for many years as non-executive chairman of West Midland Farmers Association Ltd, a regional agricultural co-operative previously based in Melksham, Wiltshire. [Previously Melksham, by 2005 in Upton on Severn.] He oversaw its 1999 demutualization to become Countrywide Farmers plc, a farming, equestrian and rural supplies firm, which, as of 2004 when he retired from the post, had 11 000 farmer shareholders and an annual turnover of £150 million. [Cite web
url=http://www.countrywidefarmers.co.uk/pws/pdf/annual_accounts_2005.pdf
title=2005 Annual Report and Accounts
format=pdf
publisher=Countrywide Farmers
accessdate=2008-10-06 Pages 2, 9.]

His interests in Wiltshire have included chairing its Magistrates' Courts Committee and the Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust.

Lord Lieutenant

His public duties include:
*Overseeing arrangements for visits to Wiltshire by members of the Royal Family and escorting Royal visitors
*Presentating awards and medals on behalf of H.M. the Queen
*Representing H.M. the Queen at events
*Liaising with the Wiltshire units of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force
*Leading the local magistracy as Chairman of the Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Justices of the Peace
*Advising on nominations for national honours

Honours

* 1998: High Sheriff of Wiltshire
* 1998: Deputy Lieutenant of Wiltshire
* 2003: Officer of the Order of the British Empire (for services to the community in Wiltshire)
* 10 November 2004: Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire
* 27 July 2005: Commander of the Venerable Order of Saint John

Family

With his wife, Pamela Bush, he has one son (Alex), one daughter (Carly) and five grandchildren (Morgan, Jasmine, Scarlett, Thomas and Lucy.)

References

*
*"Who's Who 2007" (A. & C. Black, London, 2007)
* [http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/councillors-general-information/lord-lieutenant-of-wiltshire.htm John Bush at wiltshire.gov.uk] (accessed 2 August 2007)
* [http://archive.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/2004/10/20/104014.html "Meet John ... the Queen's new man" by David Andrew at thisiswiltshire.co.uk, 20 October 2004] (accessed 2 August 2007)