Chairman's role

The chairman is the ceremonial head of the council. The chairman must be a serving county councillor, but must remain politically impartial. A chairman must not be a member of the Cabinet.

Ceremonial duties include:

• being the politically impartial civic leader of Oxfordshire
• promoting the objectives and services of the county council and Oxfordshire itself
• acting as an ambassador for the county council and Oxfordshire
• fostering community identity and pride.

Key responsibilities include:

• presiding over meetings of the full council
• accepting invitations on behalf of the county council to attend events
• inviting individuals and representatives of key organisations to events at County Hall and other venues.

Town mayors also perform ceremonial duties in Oxfordshire.

Current chairman and vice-chairman

Councillor Don Seale was elected Chairman of Oxfordshire County Council in May 2012. He will serve a one year term of office as the ceremonial, non-political head of the council. Councillor Timothy Hallchurch MBE will serve as Vice-Chairman for 2012/13.

Chairman, Councillor Don Seale

Don Seale represents the Bampton Division in West Oxfordshire on the county council, and has been a County and District Councillor for West Oxfordshire since 1997 and was a cabinet member at the county council from 2001 to 2007.

He served in the RAF, attaining the rank of Wing Commander, serving in Cyprus, Germany and at NATO Headquarters in Belgium. Among his last appointments were tours at RAF Brize Norton and the Ministry of Defence. After the RAF, he worked at Cranfield University as a Course Director and British Aerospace as a weapons analyst. He enjoys golf, cricket and gardening.

Deputy Chairman, Councillor Timothy Hallchurch

Councillor Timothy Hallchurch MBE represents the Otmoor and Kirtlington Division on the county council.

Councillor Hallchurch was trained at Sandhurst and served for many years in the Army in Royal Signals and served Aden, Cyprus, Libya, Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, Northern Ireland, Germany, Jordan, the Maldives and organised and ran long range communications during the Falklands conflict.

He later worked in the defence industry and commanded the Queen’s Own Oxfordshire Hussars as a TA officer and was also Military Liaison Officer for Oxfordshire as an acting Lieutenant Colonel.

Events

Details of events the chairman has attended will be posted here. For further information on any of these events, please contact the Chairman's PA Sara Lenihan on 01865 815951 or sara.lenihan@oxfordshire.gov.uk.