In 1660, Samuel Pepys may have described the Lord Mayor’s Show in his diary as “poor and absurd” but Fiona Woolf – the 686th holder of the title and only the second woman since 1189 – insists she enjoyed the pageantry of progressing through the City streets last November in a gilded horse-drawn coach, in full regalia and guarded by pikemen. “I absolutely loved it,” the corporate lawyer said in a Guardian interview last August. “It’s well known around the world and terribly well received.”
Next Saturday, the 66-year-old solicitor will be stepping down from the one-year post and considering her future options. Educated in law at Keele University with a diploma in comparative law from University of Strasbourg, the Scottish dancing enthusiast has a varied CV from which to cherrypick roles.
Born in Edinburgh, Woolf worked as a corporate and banking solicitor at Clifford Chance before joining CMS Cameron McKenna, where she is a partner. She has advised over 28 governments and the World Bank on privatisation and energy reforms, receiving received a CBE for her contribution to the UK knowledge economy. Chancellor designate of the University of Law – a role she will take up this month – and ex-officio chancellor of City University, Woolf is also the past president of the Law Society of England and Wales, senior adviser with London Economics International LLP, a trustee of Raleigh International, president of the Chelsea Opera Group, member of the Council of The London Regiment of the Territorial Army and of the Women’s Business Council.
While previous lord mayors have largely kept a low profile in the UK, Woolf broke the mould. She hosted showcase events, including the City’s first Pride dinner in celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender City workers.