The Lord Provost of Aberdeen is the

convener The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

of the

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

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. They are elected by the city council and serve not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city. They are equivalent in many ways to the institution of

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

that exists in many other countries. According to Munro, the provost of Aberdeen was elected on the first Monday after

Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in many Western Christian liturgical calendars on 29 Se ...

up to the end of the sixteenth century. From then until 1833, the election took place on the first Wednesday after Michaelmas, and from then (at least until 1897) elections were held on the Friday after the first Tuesday in November. He gives the example of John Cheyne, elected 1593, who would have continued in office until the Michaelmas election of 1594. The dates below, up to 1897, recognise this pattern. Each of the 32 Scottish local authorities elects a Convener or

provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

, but only the cities of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

and

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

have a

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 ...

. While this was confirmed in the

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65) is an Act of Parliament (UK), act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered local government of Scotland, local government in Scotland on 16 May 1975. The act followed and largely impleme ...

and subsequently in the

Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39) is an Act of parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the current Local government in Scotland, local government structure of 32 Unitary authority, unitary authori ...

the title Lord Provost of Aberdeen was formally established in 1863 when

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

knighted Sir

Alexander Anderson Alexander Anderson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Alexander Anderson (cartoonist) (1920–2010), American cartoonist, creator of "Rocky the Flying Squirrel" * Alexander Anderson (illustrator) (1775–1870), American illustrator * Alexander ...

designing him 'Lord Provost of Aberdeen'. Until then, while various petitions, and other documents variously addressed the holder as Lord Provost, the title was correctly Provost of Aberdeen. Since 1899, the

of Aberdeen, has also been

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...

the

Lord-Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility o ...

of the city. Following local government re-organisation brought about by the

, this arrangement was confirmed in the

Lieutenancies Act 1997 The Lieutenancies Act 1997 (c. 23) is an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom) in the United Kingdom that defines areas that lord-lieutenants are appointed to in Great Britain. It came into force on 1 July 1997. Creation of modern local government ...

13th century

* (1272–1273) Richard Cementarius * (1273–1274) Mathew Greatheued * (1281–1282) Mathew Greatheued * (1284–1285) Malcolm de Pelgoueni

14th century

* (1309–1310) Duncan de Malauill * (1321–1322) Duncan Kynnedy * (1326–1329) Symon Gelchach * (1329–1332) William Strabrock * (1332–1333) Symon Gelchach * (1333–1335) William Strabrock * (1340–1341) Colin Adamson * (1341–1342) David Fyngask * (1343–1344) Thomas Mercer * (1348–1349) Symon Lynton * (1349–1351) Robert Edynhame * (1351–1356) William Leith * (1361–1363) Thomas Mercer * (1366–1367) Laurence Garvock * (1367–1368) Laurence de Foty * (1372–1374) William Leith * (1382–1383) Alexander Bannerman * (1383–1384) John Tulloh * (1385–1391) Laurence de Foty * (1391–1395) William de Camera * (1395–1396) William Andrewson * (1396–1399) William de Camera * (1399–1401) Adam de Benyn

15th century

16th century

17th century

18th century

19th century

File:James Hadden of Persley, Provost of Aberdeen (1801-3, 1809-11, 1813-15, 1830-32) - ABDCC001017.jpg, alt=Man seated, wearing a dark suit and a chain of office, James Hadden of Persley, Provost of Aberdeen (1801-3, 1809-11, 1813-15, 1830-32) File:Sir Charles Forbes, Bart Of Newe, Provost Of Aberdeen (1817-18) - Colvin Smith - ABDCC001040.jpg, Sir Charles Forbes (1817-1818) by

Colvin Smith Colvin Smith RSA (1795 – 21 July 1875) was a Scotland, Scottish portrait painter, portraitist. Life Smith was born at Brechin, in Angus, Scotland, Angus, the son of John Smith, a merchant, and his wife, Cecilia Gillies. He studied art in Lo ...

File:Sir Thomas Blaikie, Provost Of Aberdeen 1839-47, 1853-56 by John Phillip - John Phillip - ABDCC001030.jpg, alt=Painting of a man standing at a table with red drape behind, Sir Thomas Blaikie, Provost of Aberdeen 1839-47, 1853-56 by John Phillip File:James Blaikie of Craigiebuckler, Provost of Aberdeen (1833-1835) - John Phillip - ABDCC001028.jpg, alt=Seated man wearing dark suit and holding some papers, James Blaikie of Craigiebuckler, Provost of Aberdeen (1833-1835) File:Sir Alexander Anderson of Blelack, Provost of Aberdeen (1859 - 1865) - Sir George Reid - ABDCC001026.jpg, Sir Alexander Anderson of Brelack, Provost of Aberdeen (1859-1865) by Sir George Reid File:William Leslie of Nethermuir, Lord Provost of Aberdeen (1869-73) - Sir George Reid - ABDCC001023.jpg, alt=Head and torso portrait of man with white hair and beard wearing a dark suit, William Leslie of Nethermuir, Lord Provost of Aberdeen (1869-73) by Sir George Reid File:Lord Provost Peter Esslemont (1834-1894) - Sir George Reid - ABDCC001024.jpg, alt=Full length portrait of Man wearing dark suit and a three quarter length coat, Lord Provost Peter Esslemont (1834-1894) by Sir George Reid William Henderson, Lord Provost of Aberdeen (1886-89) by Sir George Reid

20th century

* (1902–1905) James Walker of Richmondhill * (1905–1908) Sir Alexander Lyon * (1908–1911) Alexander Wilson * (1911–1914) Adam Maitland * (1914–1919) Sir James Taggart * (1919–1925) Sir William Meff * (1925–1929) Sir Andrew Jopp Williams Lewis * (1929–1932)

James Reid Rust James Reid Rust (1872–1945) was a businessman who served as both Lord Provost of Aberdeen and Lord Lieutenant of the City of Aberdeen. Life He was born on 28 April 1872 the son of George Rust (1835-1891) and his wife Margaret Philip in 1881 ...

* (1932–1935) Sir Henry Alexander * (1935–1936) Edward William Watt * (1936–1947) Sir Thomas Mitchell * (1947–1951) Duncan Fraser ( Labour) * (1951–1952) William Reid * (1952–1955) Reverend Professor John Graham ( Labour) * (1955–1961) George Stephen ( Labour) * (1961–1964) Reverend Professor John Graham ( Labour) * (1964–1967) Norman Hogg ( Labour) * (1967–1970) Robert Lennox ( Labour) * (1970–1971)

James Lamond James Alexander Lamond (29 November 1928 – 20 November 2007) was a British Labour Member of Parliament who represented Oldham East from 1970 to 1983 and then Oldham Central and Royton from 1983 until he retired at the 1992 general election. ...

( Labour) * (1971–1975) John Farquharson Smith ( Labour) * (1975–1977) Robert Lennox ( Labour) * (1977–1980) William James Fraser ( Labour) * (1980–1984) Alexander C Collie ( Labour) * (1984–1988) Henry Rae ( Labour) * (1988–1992) Robert Robertson ( Labour) * (1992–1996) James Wyness ( Labour) * (1996–1999) Margaret Farquhar ( Labour) First female Lord Provost of Aberdeen * (1999–2003) Margaret Elizabeth Smith ( Labour) File:Sir James Taggart, KBE, Lord Provost of Aberdeen (1914-1919) by Ambrose McEvoy - Ambrose McEvoy - ABDCC001005.jpg, alt=Man wearing a military uniform and great coat, Sir James Taggart, KBE, Lord Provost of Aberdeen (1914-1919) by Ambrose McEvoy File:James Walker of Richmondhill, Lord Provost of Aberdeen (1902-1905) - Sir George Reid - ABDCC001025.jpg, alt=Man with beard wearing formal attire and a red fur trimmed gown, James Walker of Richmondhill, Lord Provost of Aberdeen (1902-1905) by Sir George Reid File:Sir William Meff, Lord Provost Of Aberdeen (1919 - 1925) - Sir William Orpen - ABDCC001020.jpg, alt=Man seated and wearing red fur trimmed robes and chain of office, Sir William Meff, Lord Provost of Aberdeen (1919-1925)

21st century

* (2003–2007) John Michael Reynolds ( Liberal Democrats) * (2007–2012) Peter James Stephen ( Liberal Democrats) * (2012–2017) George Adam ( Labour) * (2017–2022) James 'Barney' Crockett ( Labour) * (2022–present) Dr David Cameron (

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, ...

) - First SNP Lord Provost of Aberdeen

References

* ''Memorials of the Aldermen, Provosts and Lord Provosts of Aberdeen 1272–1895'', Alexander M. Munro, 1897 {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Provosts And Lord Provosts Of Aberdeen Politics of Aberdeen Aberdeen, Provosts and Lord Provosts of Government of Scotland * Provosts and Lord Provosts