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With great sadness, this message is to let you know that an Honorary Freeman of the Borough, Daniel Zammit, died peacefully on Wednesday 7 August 2024 after a brave fight against cancer.

The following message is from Daniel’s family:

Honorary Freeman Daniel Zammit is a former Dacorum Borough Council Chief Executive who joined the Council in January 2004 after previous chief officer roles in Tower Hamlets, Haringey, Hillingdon and Redbridge.

When he left in 2013, he had contributed 30 years to local government and a further 11 to the health and voluntary sector. Not quite ready to give up his role in public service, he then went on to serve his community through being a trustee of the Pepper Foundation, and governor of Tring Park School for Performing Arts and John F Kennedy school. He was granted the title of Honorary Freeman, the highest honour that the council can bestow to persons of distinction and persons who, in the opinion of the council, rendered eminent services to the Borough.

Many of you will have worked with Danny during his near decade at Dacorum and will remember his innate commitment to public service. With his dedication to that community leadership, along with his calm and pragmatic style, and often mischievous wit, he made Dacorum a strong local authority with a team of people as committed as he was.

He was modest about his responsibilities, and his great skill as the ambassador for the organisation was the ability to connect people and organisations to share the ambition to achieve a common goal.

His role was certainly not easy, although you would never hear him talk of his work with anything other than positivity. He empowered a strong team, and whether he was overseeing regeneration and development, making positive changes for local people in his policy delivery, or steering complex decision making, he did it by encouraging input from others. That was one of his great strengths as chief executive: having the intellect, experience, and knowledge to make decisions alone, but never choosing to, instead preferring to continue learning and listening to others.

His steadfastness was tested on many occasions, not least during the Buncefield incident and ongoing recovery in 2005 and beyond, and he valued his time at Dacorum, a sentiment reflected in his farewell to the Council email, “Saying goodbye to DBC will not be easy.  May I thank you for welcoming my family and me into your community and for giving me the opportunity to serve you.  It has been an honour.”

Committing so many years to making a positive difference to people’s lives was truly important to Danny and is a praiseworthy legacy.  As his wife Chris so rightly sums it up: “the world has lost one of the good ones”.

Former colleagues and friends who wish to come together to celebrate Danny's life are very welcome to attend the funeral taking place at 11am on Monday 9 September at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic church, Park Street, Berkhamsted and wake afterwards at Berkhamsted Tennis Club.

Danny will be greatly missed by his wife Chris, and his children Amelia and Oliver. If you would like to share your personal recollections of Danny with them, please send them to mayors.secretary@dacorum.gov.uk to be passed on to the family.