The High Sheriff of Leicestershire - Mr Maurice Thompson

Maurice Thompson was born in 1958 and has lived with his wife Vivien in Leicestershire for 14 years. The couple have five children, ranging in age from 14 to 25, and live near Lubenham in the countryside of South Leicestershire.

After graduating from Oxford where he studied modern history and languages, Maurice joined SG Warburg and has made a career in the financial sector for more than 25 years.

In 2008 Maurice and Vivien Thompson launched a new charity, Leicestershire First. The charity seeks to promote leadership, excellence and citizenship in the county, by giving nine awards of £3,000 each to unrecognised community leaders in fields including volunteering, community building, and contributions to Leicestershire life through the arts and music.

Nominations can be made at www.leicestershirefirst.org.uk and the prize money is donated by the winners to Leicestershire charities of their choice.

The winners to date have included music teacher Helen Collins, conservationist Ralph Johnson, charity founding sisters Rama and Sujata Bhalla, kids’ dance club inspiration Ruth Wragg and teenage youth worker Kirsty Dunkley. A broad range of Leicestershire charities have been supported by the winners’ donated prize money, including the children’s cancer ward at the Leicester Royal Infirmary, the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, the inner city children’s helpline Open Door Leicester and the Rainbows children’s hospice in Loughborough.

During a sabbatical year Maurice rode horses in Pakistan, hiked in the Alps and did community work in the UK. He is a member of the Travellers Club and the Fernie Hunt. He is a Trustee of the Sherborne School Foundation, his former school.

Maurice’s other interests include skiing and ski-touring, riding, rugby (Leicester Tigers), cricket, climbing, photography, international travel and Germany.