John Ross Letford MBE (born 5 March 1935) is a Scottish politician who served as the

Lord Provost of Dundee The Lord Provost of Dundee is the chair and civic head of the Dundee City Council in Scotland. They are elected by the city council and serve not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead and Lord Lieutenant for the city. They are equ ...

, as well as a councillor in his local ward of

Lochee Lochee () is an area in the west of Dundee, Scotland. Until the 19th century, it was a separate town, but was eventually surrounded by the expanding Dundee. It is notable for being home to Camperdown Works, which was the largest jute production ...

, until May 2012. His eleven years as Lord Provost made him the longest serving civic head in the United Kingdom since the nineteenth century. He currently resides in the Charleston area of the city. Born in Aberdeen, he moved to Dundee in 1943 and later served an apprenticeship in the

Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company The Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Limited was a major Scottish shipbuilding company based in Dundee, Scotland that traded for more than a century and built more than 500 ships. History W.B. Thompson CBE (1837 - 1923) founded the ...

shipyard as a marine coppersmith. He also served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

from 1956 until 1958. In 1989 he began working as a training manager with Community Industry Rathbone, where he remained for 15 years before becoming a councillor in the

Tayside Regional Council Tayside () was one of the nine regions used for local government in Scotland from 16 May 1975 to 31 March 1996. The region was named after the River Tay. History Tayside region was created in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 197 ...

and Labour Party Chairman for Camperdown. He has served on several committees with matters concerning sports, theatre, education, local services and disabled associations and has been involved with

Dundee City Council Dundee City Council is the Local government in Scotland, local authority for Dundee City council area, Dundee City, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Dundee was formerly governed by a municipal c ...

since 1994 where before being elected as

Lord Provost A lord provost () is the convenor of the local authority, the civic head and the lord-lieutenant of one of the principal cities of Scotland. The office is similar to that of a lord mayor. Only the cities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Stirlin ...

in June 2001, in succession to Helen Wright, who was voted out of office because of a dispute over her expenses. He was elected by a vote of 15–11 over

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...

candidate David Bowes, winning backing from three

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

councillors. Previously he had held the post of Deputy Lord Provost. Letford was re-elected as Lord Provost after the

2007 Scottish local elections The 2007 Scottish local elections were held on 3 May 2007, the same day as Scottish Parliament elections and local elections in parts of England. All 32 Scottish councils had all their seats up for election – all Scottish councils are unitar ...

and again after the

. On 24 March 2009, Letford resigned from the Labour Group on Dundee City Council, and became an independent councillor. Letford was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to local government. He launched his autobiography in 2016.

References

1935 births Living people Members of the Order of the British Empire Politicians from Aberdeen Scottish Labour councillors Lord provosts of Dundee {{Scotland-provost-stub