Councillor Peter Cullum has been appointed as the Mayor of Rushmoor for 2026/27, with Councillor Jib Bebase as his deputy.
Councillor Cullum, who has served as a St John’s ward councillor since 2019, was elected as first citizen of the borough at Rushmoor Borough Council’s annual meeting on Tuesday (26).
His mayoress for the year ahead will be his wife, Mrs Ann Cullum, and his chosen charities for the year will be Diabetes UK, Step by Step and Phyllis Tuckwell.
In accepting the role, Councillor Cullum promised to be a true representative of the borough and to remain impartial at all times.
As a former RAF pilot, flying transport and training aircraft and an MOD staff officer and attaché, Councillor Cullum highlighted the forthcoming Armed Forces Day National Event, being hosted by Aldershot and Farnborough in June, as one of the many events in what will be a busy year for him.
He will be supported by his deputy, Councillor Belbase, who represents the Manor Park ward in Aldershot. Councillor Belbase was re-elected to the council in May, having previously served from 2021 to 2024.
Councillor Cullum was born and grew up in Reading and after his RAF service joined a trade association as its international representative dealing with customs and immigration matters. He has worked in more than 60 countries and lived in Oman and Sweden, settling in Farnborough in 1983. He and Ann have three children and one grandchild.
He served as deputy to the outgoing mayor, Councillor Calum Stewart, who reflected that it had been a ‘strange, exhausting and extraordinary’ year, adding that the role had given him the privilege of seeing Rushmoor in a way very few people do.
“Behind all the noise and cynicism that can sometimes dominate public life, there are enormous numbers of people quietly doing good for one another every single day,” he said.
Councillor Stewart, one of the council’s youngest mayors, thanked his mum, Shani Stewart, who served as his mayoress, and Councillor Cullum for their support during his year, along with council staff, volunteers, community organisations.
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