Danny Rich has become the first ever rabbi to be appointed as a Labour-run council’s mayor.
The senior Rabbi at Southgate Progressive Synagogue became the 61st Mayor of Barnet after being officially sworn in during the Annual Council Meeting held on Tuesday at Hendon Town Hall.
The Mayoress will be his wife, Ms Laura Lassman.
Rich, first elected as a Labour councillor for West Finchley in 2018, selected the Jewish Deaf Association and Unitas Youth Zone as his chosen charities for his Mayoral term.
He was previously deputy mayor of Barnet.
The Worshipful Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Danny Rich, said: “I am honoured and delighted to have been elected Mayor of the London Borough of Barnet.
“When I moved to Barnet, having spent the first 50 years or so of my life south of the River Thames, such a possibility would never have crossed my mind. It is true that I once stood unsuccessfully for Elmbridge Borough Council, Surrey, and have served as Christmas Day driver and a member of the chaplaincy team for a number of Mayors of Kingston.
“When I was approached to stand for Barnet Council I agreed because I saw an opportunity to assist local residents in receiving services, to support voluntary group efforts and to enhance the borough we live in.
“These remain my objectives as your Mayor and it is my fervent hope to meet as many of you as I can.”
Brought up in South London before studying politics and modern history at Manchester University, Rich served as Rabbi to Kingston Liberal Synagogue for some two decades after ordination from the Leo Baeck College.
He was appointed Senior Rabbi and Chief Executive of Liberal Judaism in 2005, a post he relinquished after 15 years in 2020.
He was elected as a local councillor for West Finchley on 3 May 2018 and has previously chaired the Overview and Scrutiny Committee as well as sitting on several other committees, including the Licensing and General Purposes Committee.
In addition to current duties as Senior Rabbi at Southgate Progressive Synagogue, Danny is a Justice of the Peace (magistrate) in South-West London and a hospital chaplain.
Conservative councillor Rabbi Alan Plancey was appointed Mayor of Hertsmere in 2020.
