THE new lord lieutenant of West Yorkshire is looking forward to being invited to his first official function as lord lieutenant in Keighley district.

Ed Anderson was appointed to the Queen's representative position one month ago, following the retirement of Dame Ingrid Roscoe, who had been in post for 14 years.

He is the sixth lord lieutenant of the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire since it was formed in 1974.

Mr Anderson, who has lived in West Yorkshire for nearly 50 years, said: "We want the lieutenancy to be accessible and inclusive.

"And one of my aims is to make the lieutenancy better known about across the county. A lot of people who haven't personally encountered it before are probably not aware of what we do.

"As lord lieutenant I'm responsible for organising and hosting royal visits, but I also go to military events, other uniformed services' functions and I will be promoting the voluntary sector by visiting charities and supporting their events.

"Not all the work these charities are involved with is high profile, but everything they do is incredibly important for the people they support.

"So far I haven't been in Keighley as lord lieutenant, though I did come to the town a few times when I was serving as high sheriff."

Mr Anderson, who lives near Wetherby, said Keighley district individuals and organisations interested in inviting him or his deputies to attend functions can get in touch via the West Yorkshire lieutenancy's website.

Mr Anderson first came to West Yorkshire 49 years ago to study in Leeds.

He qualified as an accountant and has worked extensively both in local government and in executive roles for airports, including East Midlands and Leeds Bradford Airport.

He was chief executive officer of Leeds Bradford Airport from 1997 to 2007.

Mr Anderson has also been chairman of Yorkshire Building Society for eight years from 2007, is now chairman of National Savings and Investments and was chair of governors at what is now Leeds Trinity University.

His interests include cricket and music, and he is on the board of Opera North.

"Three years ago I had a year as high sheriff of West Yorkshire, and then I became one of the county's deputy lieutenants," he added.

"I was chosen to replace Dame Ingrid Roscoe as lord lieutenant and have been doing the job for just under a month. I go to meetings and engagements more or less every day, and I enjoy it very much."