A FORMER soldier has been appointed as the Queen’s new representative in Worcestershire.

Lt Col Patrick Holcroft, who has been a deputy lieutenant for the last three years, has been announced as the county’s new Lord Lieu tenant.

The 64-year-old succeeds Michael Brinton, former chairman of Kidderminster’s Brinton Carpets, who died last year.

Lt Col Holcroft was brought up in Worces-tershire and now lives near Tenbury Wells with his wife and three sons.

Following 19 years’ service in the Grenadier Guards, he pursued a career in the City of London, joining UK merchant banking group Robert Fleming in 1988.

He remained with the bank as a director of the investment management business until it was acquired in 2000, at which point he became chief executive of RFIB insurance group following a buyout from the new owners.

He remained chief executive officer of the group until 2009.

He is also a director, trustee or adviser to a number of companies, trusts and charities, in-cluding the Nuffield Trust for the Forces of the Crown, the Lloyds Patriotic, the Royal Mil-itary Academy Sandhurst, the Grenadier Guards and the Hedley Foundation.

Since being appointed a deputy lieutenant in 2009, his duties have included helping to plan the jubilee visit of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in July 2012 and the visit of the Earl of Wessex to Malvern and Worcester in Sept-ember 2012.

He said: “It is a privilege and an honour to take on this important role within the county and I look forward to working with the county council and other important bodies to help further the interests of Worcestershire in the coming years.

“I follow in the footsteps of an outstanding man, Michael Brinton, whose work has touch- ed many different areas of life across the county.

“He and his wife Angela carried out their duties with integrity, commitment and good humour, and I, along with many others, would like to pay tribute to that.” The Lord Lieuten-ant’s main duty is to represent the Queen in Worcestershire, but re-sponsibilities also in-clude arranging visits for the Royal family, presenting honours and awards, leading the local magistracy as chairman of the Lord Chancellor’s advisory committee on Just-ices of the Peace, supporting reserve forces and cadets, as well encouraging charitable giving in the county.