. In 1842, this position was restyled the
. in 1892, four years after Belfast was granted city status, the position was given Lord Mayor status, making it one of only three cities on the island of Ireland having a Lord Mayor, the other two being
. In 1929, it became one of only six cities in the United Kingdom to have a Lord Mayor styled "the Right Honourable". Until 1973 the position was held for three years, when it was reduced to its current term of one year. From 1921 until 1972, the Lord Mayor was automatically entitled to a seat in the
holding the post for a total of 61 of the 67 years between 1921 and 1997. The first non-Unionist Lord Mayor since the
who was elected in 1978. The first nationalist Lord Mayor was not appointed until the election of
Lord Mayor was first elected in 2002. The loss of the Unionist majority on the Council in 1997 has resulted in a greater rotation of the position amongst the parties, which, like other elected positions within the Council such as Committee chairs, is now filled using the D'Hondt system. This system awards positions to parties based on their number of Councillors and means that the Council that sits from 2011 to 2015 will see the Lord Mayor post filled twice by Sinn Féin (2011-12 & 2014-15), once by the
The Lord's Mayor's role is largely ceremonial, but does include the following powers and duties:
The position of Deputy Lord Mayor has a representative role within the city along with the Lord Mayor. When the Lord Mayor is unavailable for whatever reason, it is the responsibility of the Deputy Lord Mayor to carry out the representative functions of the Lord Mayor.
While the Deputy Lord Mayor is in office, they combine their mayoral responsibilities with their responsibilities as a councillor, such as serving on Council Committees.
The following is a list of Sovereigns of Belfast from the creation of the position in 1613 until it was replaced by the position of Mayor in 1842.
The following is a list of Mayors of Belfast from the creation of the position in 1842 until it was replaced by the position of Lord Mayor in 1892.
The following is a list of Lord Mayors of Belfast since the creation of the position in 1892.
| From |
To |
Name |
Party |
| 1900 |
1901 |
Robert John McConnell |
|
|
| 1901 |
1904 |
Sir Daniel Dixon Sir Daniel Dixon, 1st Baronet PC was an Irish politician.Dixon was the son of Thomas Dixon of Larne, County Antrim. He served as Mayor of Belfast in 1892 and as Lord Mayor of Belfast in 1893 and from 1901 to 1903 and from 1905 to 1906. In 1902 he was created a Baronet, of Ballymenock in the County...
|
| 1904 |
1905 |
Otto Jaffe Sir Otto Jaffe, JP was a German-born British Jewish businessman and twice elected Lord Mayor of Belfast.-Family:...
|
| 1905 |
1907 |
Sir Daniel Dixon Sir Daniel Dixon, 1st Baronet PC was an Irish politician.Dixon was the son of Thomas Dixon of Larne, County Antrim. He served as Mayor of Belfast in 1892 and as Lord Mayor of Belfast in 1893 and from 1901 to 1903 and from 1905 to 1906. In 1902 he was created a Baronet, of Ballymenock in the County...
|
| 1907 |
1908 |
Anthony Ashley-Cooper Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 9th Earl of Shaftesbury, KP, PC, GCVO, CBE, was the son of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 8th Earl of Shaftesbury and Lady Harriet Augusta Anna Seymourina Chichester , the daughter of George Chichester, 3rd Marquess of Donegall and Lady Harriet Anne Butler.-Family life:On 15 July...
|
|
|
| 1908 |
1910 |
Robert Anderson |
|
|
| 1910 |
1914 |
Robert James McMordie Robert James McMordie, QC was an Irish barrister, politician, and Lord Mayor of Belfast.Son of the Rev. J A McMordie, he was born in Cumran, County Down, and educated at the Royal Academical Institution, Belfast and Queen's College, Belfast. He received an M.A. from Queen's University. In 1874 he...
|
| 1914 |
1917 |
Crawford McCullagh Sir Crawford McCullagh, 1st Baronet was a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland.McCullagh was the director of several businesses in Belfast, including Maguire and Patterson, a dry goods firm , and the Classic Cinema at Castle Place, as well as owning McCullagh and Co., a silk mercers, milliners...
|
| 1917 |
1919 |
James Johnston
|
| 1919 |
1920 |
John C. White |
|
|
| 1920 |
1923 |
William Frederick Coates
|
| 1923 |
1929 |
William George Turner William George Turner was a unionist politician in Northern Ireland.Born in Ballygawley, County Tyrone, Turner became a fruiterer on the Shankill Road. He first stood for election to the Belfast Corporation in the Cliftonville ward in 1909. Although he was officially an independent Unionist, he...
|
| 1929 |
1931 |
William Frederick Coates
|
| 1931 |
1942 |
Crawford McCullagh Sir Crawford McCullagh, 1st Baronet was a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland.McCullagh was the director of several businesses in Belfast, including Maguire and Patterson, a dry goods firm , and the Classic Cinema at Castle Place, as well as owning McCullagh and Co., a silk mercers, milliners...
|
| 1942 |
1942 |
George Ruddell Black George Ruddell Black was a unionist politician in Northern Ireland.Black worked as a clothing manufacturer and was elected as an Ulster Unionist Party member of the Belfast Corporation. In 1942, he was elected as the Lord Mayor of Belfast, but he died after a few months in office.-References:...
|
| 1943 |
1946 |
Crawford McCullagh Sir Crawford McCullagh, 1st Baronet was a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland.McCullagh was the director of several businesses in Belfast, including Maguire and Patterson, a dry goods firm , and the Classic Cinema at Castle Place, as well as owning McCullagh and Co., a silk mercers, milliners...
|
| 1946 |
1949 |
William Frederick Neill William Frederick Neill was a unionist politician in Northern Ireland.Neill studied at Belfast Model School before becoming an estate agent. He was elected as an Ulster Unionist Party alderman on the Belfast Corporation in 1938, and served as Lord Mayor of Belfast from 1946 to 1949...
|
| 1949 |
1951 |
William Ernest George Johnston Sir William Ernest George Johnston, DL was a Unionist politician and businessman in Northern Ireland.Born in Belfast Sir William was the son of Rt. Hon. Sir James Johnston, of Belvoir Park....
|
| 1951 |
1953 |
James Henry Norritt Sir James Henry Norritt, Esq., JP, DL, LLD, FCIS was Lord Mayor of Belfast for the Ulster Unionist Party from 1951 to 1953.-External links:***...
|
| 1953 |
1955 |
Percival Brown William Percival Brown was a unionist politician in Northern Ireland.Brown studied at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution and worked as an estate agent. He was elected as an Ulster Unionist Party member of the Belfast Corporation, and served as Lord Mayor of Belfast from 1953 to...
|
| 1955 |
1957 |
Robert Harcourt Sir Robert John Rolston Harcourt, JP was a Northern Irish politician.Robert Harcourt became the director of F. E. Harcourt and Company coal merchants. He was High Sheriff of Belfast in 1949, and later in the year unsuccessfully stood as the Ulster Unionist Party candidate for South Down...
|
| 1957 |
1959 |
Cecil McKee William Cecil McKee was a unionist politician in Northern Ireland.Born in Newtownards, McKee took an engineering apprenticeship before joining the family estate agency. He was elected to the Belfast Corporation for the Ulster Unionist Party in 1934, and in 1938 took a commission in the...
|
| 1959 |
1961 |
Robin Kinahan Sir Robert George Caldwell "Robin" Kinahan was a politician, businessman and a senior member of the Orange Order in Northern Ireland. In his obituary, he was described as one of the last of the "county elite" to remain a high-ranking member of the Orange Order during the turbulent years of The...
|
| 1961 |
1963 |
Martin Kelso Wallace Martin Wallace was a unionist politician in Northern Ireland.Wallace worked as a company director and was elected as an Ulster Unionist Party member of the Belfast Corporation. He was elected as Lord Mayor of Belfast in 1961 and served for two years.-References:...
|
| 1963 |
1966 |
William Jenkins William Jenkins was an unionist politician in Northern Ireland.Jenkins studied at the Belfast College of Technology then worked in Bombay from 1931 to 1956 as the director of a tea company. He then returned to Northern Ireland, where he held numerous directorships, but also found time to sit on...
|
| 1966 |
1969 |
William Duncan Geddis William Duncan Geddis was a unionist politician in Northern Ireland.Geddis studied at Skerries College in Belfast before becoming a clothing manufacturer. He was elected to the Belfast Corporation for the Ulster Unionist Party and served as Lord Mayor of Belfast from 1966 to 1969.-References:...
|
| 1969 |
1972 |
Joseph Foster Cairns Joseph Foster Cairns is a former unionist politician in Northern Ireland.Cairns was the managing director of a furniture retailer, and chairman of a development company. He was elected to the Belfast Corporation for the Ulster Unionist Party, and served as Lord Mayor of Belfast from 1969–1971...
|
| 1972 |
1975 |
William Christie
|
| 1975 |
1977 |
Myles Humphreys Sir Myles Humphreys, JP, DL was a Northern Irish Ulster Unionist Party politician and activist, and an engineer and businessman....
|
| 1977 |
1978 |
James Stewart
|
| 1978 |
1979 |
David Cook David Cook is a former politician in Northern Ireland.Cook works as a solicitor, eventually becoming a senior partner at Sheldon and Stewart Solicitors....
|
| 1979 |
1980 |
Billy BellWilliam Bradshaw "Billy" Bell, OBE, JP is an Unionist politician from Northern Ireland and former Lord Mayor of Belfast.He served as a Councillor on Belfast City Council from 1976 to 1985 and was Lord Mayor of Belfast from 1979 to 1980...
|
| 1980 |
1981 |
John Carson John Carson is a former Northern Ireland Ulster Unionist Party politician.A draper who owned a shop in the interface area of the Duncairn Gardens in north Belfast, Carson was elected to Belfast City Council in 1973. The following year he was elected as a member of the United Ulster Unionist...
|
| 1981 |
1982 |
Grace Bannister Grace Bannister, OBE, was a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland.Bannister was elected to Belfast Corporation in 1965, representing the Ulster Unionist Party . She stood as an independent Unionist in Belfast South at the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1973, after failing to secure an...
|
| 1982 |
1983 |
Thomas Patton
|
| 1983 |
1985 |
Alfie Ferguson
|
| 1985 |
1986 |
John Carson John Carson is a former Northern Ireland Ulster Unionist Party politician.A draper who owned a shop in the interface area of the Duncairn Gardens in north Belfast, Carson was elected to Belfast City Council in 1973. The following year he was elected as a member of the United Ulster Unionist...
|
| 1986 |
1987 |
Sammy Wilson Samuel Wilson is a politician from Northern Ireland who is a Member of Parliament and a Member of the Legislative Assembly for East Antrim. He served as Lord Mayor of Belfast in 1986 – 1987; and again from June 2000 to June 2001. He was the first person from the Democratic Unionist Party ...
|
| 1987 |
1988 |
J. J. Dixon Gilmore John Smiley Dixon "Dixie" Gilmore OBE was Lord Mayor of Belfast from 1987 to 1988 having previously been Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast. He was made a officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1989....
|
| 1988 |
1989 |
Nigel Dodds Nigel Alexander Dodds, OBE, MP, BL is a barrister and Northern Irish unionist politician. He is Member of Parliament for Belfast North, and deputy leader of the Democratic Unionist Party. He has been Lord Mayor of Belfast twice, and from 1993 has been General Secretary of the DUP...
|
| 1989 |
1990 |
Reg EmpeyReginald Norman Morgan Empey, Baron Empey of Shandon, OBE, – known as Sir Reg Empey prior to 2011 – is a former Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for East Belfast...
|
| 1990 |
1991 |
Fred Cobain Fred Cobain, MBE is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland and was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly from 1998 until 2011.Cobain was first elected to Belfast City Council in 1985. He served as Lord Mayor of Belfast in 1990-1991...
|
| 1991 |
1992 |
Nigel Dodds Nigel Alexander Dodds, OBE, MP, BL is a barrister and Northern Irish unionist politician. He is Member of Parliament for Belfast North, and deputy leader of the Democratic Unionist Party. He has been Lord Mayor of Belfast twice, and from 1993 has been General Secretary of the DUP...
|
| 1992 |
1993 |
Herbert Ditty Herbert Ditty was a lifelong Ulster Unionist politician, representing the Shankill Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland.Ditty was a founding member of the Ulster Protestant Action executive in the 1950s....
|
| 1993 |
1994 |
Reg EmpeyReginald Norman Morgan Empey, Baron Empey of Shandon, OBE, – known as Sir Reg Empey prior to 2011 – is a former Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for East Belfast...
|
| 1994 |
1995 |
Hugh Smyth Cllr Hugh Smyth is a former leader of the Progressive Unionist Party. He is a long-serving member of Belfast City Council and former Lord Mayor of Belfast. He is also the longest-serving member of the council, having represented the Upper Shankill areas since 1973...
|
| 1995 |
1996 |
Eric Smyth Eric Smyth is a unionist politician and religious minister in Northern Ireland.Smyth was first elected to Belfast City Council for the Democratic Unionist Party in 1981, representing 'Area F' which was equivalent to the modern wards of Falls, Clonard, Blackstaff and Shaftesbury...
|
| 1996 |
1997 |
Ian Adamson Cllr Ian Adamson OBE is a former Lord Mayor of Belfast. He is a member of the Ulster Unionist Party and is a retired medical doctor.A serving Councillor on Belfast City Council from 1989 until 2011, Adamson was Lord Mayor in 1996....
|
| 1997 |
1998 |
Alban Maginness Alban Maginness is a Nationalist politician in Northern Ireland.Maginness was born in Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. He completed his secondary education at St. Malachy's College, Belfast. He then attended the New University of Ulster and subsequently Queen's University of Belfast where...
|
| 1998 |
1999 |
David AlderdiceDavid King Alderdice is a former Lord Mayor of Belfast, and a senior member of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland. He was elected to North Down Borough Council representing Holywood on 5 May 2005 and retired in July 2010....
|
| 1999 |
2000 |
Bob Stoker Bob Stoker is a Ulster Unionist Party politician and former Member of the Northern Ireland Forum for South Belfast.He was elected to Northern Ireland Forum for Belfast South in May 1996....
|