The 38th chairman of Hertfordshire County Council has been officially elected. But who is Cllr Annie Brewster?

  1. Cllr Brewster is the county councillor for Harpenden Rural and Mayor of St Albans for 2013-14, who has worked at a parish, district and county level for more than 15 years;
  2. She is a Justice of the Peace on the West & Central Magistrate Bench;
  3. As portfolio holder for culture, heritage and sport at St Albans district council she was responsible for the creation of the award-winning new St Albans Museum + Gallery;
  4. She was HCC's deputy executive member for public health and prevention during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, was the vice-chairman of the Luton Airport consultative committee and is an executive board member of the Hertfordshire Sports Partnership;
  5. A former athlete, at the age of 17, Cllr Brewster won silver in the 1,500m at the UK Championships and at 35 she came third in the world in the 5K racewalk.

Cllr Brewster said: “It is a tremendous honour as a lifelong Hertfordshire resident to be elected by colleagues to serve as its chairman. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to outgoing chairman Cllr Quilty for his service to Hertfordshire and hope that I too can use the office of chairman to have a positive impact on our beautiful county.

“The residents of Hertfordshire have dealt with a variety of challenges since the start of the pandemic and with further challenges on the horizon I genuinely believe that we can become more united as we tackle these adversities.”

The chairman runs meetings of the council to ensure business is conducted efficiently and in accordance with the law and the constitution.

The chairman also represents the county council at a plethora of events across the county in a supportive role, including citizenship ceremonies, awards presentations, school visits and charity fundraising events.

If you'd like the chairman to attend an event email chairmans.office@hertfordshire.gov.uk