COUNCILLOR Colin Davidovitz has been named as this year’s chairman of Hampshire County Council.

Councillors from Hampshire County Council elected Cllr Davidovitz as the chairman of the local authority at the annual meeting of the county council on May 30.

As a result, the county councillor for Chandler’s Ford, will now preside over county council meetings to ensure they are conducted in line with procedure and he will represent the county council on royal visits and ceremonial occasions in Hampshire as well as other civic activities and duties.

Cllr Davidovitz said: “I feel humbled but very proud to have been considered and elected for this great task. Hampshire is a fine county. It hosts many of the UK’s most important manufacturers and businesses and well as bases for all our excellent armed forces. In the year ahead, we will be commemorating the anniversaries of their historic and heroic actions.”

The former executive member for communication and efficiency joined the Royal Navy at the age of 15 as a boy telegraphist and later qualified as a Russian linguist and an electronic warfare specialist.

He was rewarded for his service in the Royal Navy when he was given a British Empire Medal for “outstanding zeal and devotion to duty on naval intelligence” after a single handed mission in South Korea in 1952.

At the age of 25, Cllr Davidovitz left the Royal Navy to begin a new career as an electronic engineer at the start of Independent Television (ITV), where he took part in opening the London ITV service as well as Scottish and Southern ITV services.

He then ended his broadcasting career in 1993 as director of operations on the board of ITV’s national breakfast time broadcasting company, TV-am.

In 1996 he was elected to Eastleigh Borough Council where he served until 2009 and he was was elected to Hampshire County Council in 2001.

His chosen theme for this year is Soldiers’, Sailors’ and Airmen’s families. He currently supports the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) – a national armed forced charity which supports members of the armed forces and their families.

The former executive member for economic development, Cllr Jonathan Glen has been appointed vice chairman of Hampshire County Council for 2014/15.