Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership
United Kingdom Local Leaders

The United Kingdom system consists of Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant s, the Monarch's Representatives in the Counties, High Sheriffs - representatives on a lower level. The Chairpersonship of the District and County Councils changes every year, and is not reported on this page

Also see United Kingdoms Ministers, Northern Ireland, Scotland Ministers and Wales Ministers

1908 Mayor Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Aldeburgh
Also her country's frst female medical doctor in 1873, she lived (1836-1917)

1929-39 Deputy Chairperson of the London City Council Eveline Lowe
1939-49 Chairperson

1956-57 Chairperson of London County Council Helen Bentwic
She was Alderman 1949-55 and Vice-Chairperson of the Council 1950-59. She lived (1892-1972)

1960-63 Lord-Lieutenant and Lord Provost of Glasgow Dame Jean Roberts
Member of the City Council from 1929-65 and became City Treasurer and Leader of the Labour Group and was Chair of Cumbernauld Development Corporation 1965-72. She lived (1895-1988)

1962-63 Chairperson of London County Council Olive Gertrude Deer

1973- Deputy Lieutenant for the County of Kent The Countess Mountbatten of Burma
Patricia Knatchbull is daughter of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900-79) and Edwina Ashley, married to John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne (1924–2005), mother of 7 children. (b. 1924-).

1974 Deputy Lieutenant for West Yorkshire The Baroness Bacon
Former Labour MP and Minister of State.

1975-76 Chairperson of Greater London Council Dame Evelyn Denington
In 1978 she was created Baroness Dennington of Stevenage. She lived (1907-98)

1975-95 Her Majesty's Lord Lieutenant The Duchess of Norfolk, West Sussex
Lavinia Mary Fitzalan-Howard was also a steward at Goodwood, married to the Duke of Norfolk, and lived (1916-95)

1977-85 Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for Greater London The Baroness Philips

1979-87 Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for Co. Fermanagh The Duchess of WestMinister
She lived (1912-87).

1977-79 Deputy Lieutenant for Stirlingshire Betty Harvie Anderson
Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means of the House of Commons 1970-73 and from 1979 member of the House of Lords as Baroness Skrimshire

1983-84 Lord Mayor of London and Head of the Commission of Lieutenancy Dame Mary Donaldson
The City of London is unique in that the post of Lord-Lieutenant is held in commission. She was the first female member of London's Court of Common Council from 1966, the first female City Alderman from 1975, and first woman City Sheriff  from 1981. She was married to John Francis Donaldson, Baron Donaldson of Lymington, senior judge and Master of the Rolls (1982-92), and lived (1921-2003).

1984-89 Deputy lieutenant for East Lothian The Duchess of Hamilton
Elizabeth was daughter of Alan Percy, 8th Duke of Northumberland and Helen Gordon-Lennox, the daughter of the Duke of Gordon and married to Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton and 11th Duke of Brandon (1903–73), mother of 5 sons and lived (1916-2008).
 
1985-90 Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for South Glamorgan Susan Williams

1988-1992 Lord-Lieutenant and Lord Provost of Glasgow Susan Baird

1988-92 Lord-Lieutenant and Lord Provost of Edinburgh Eleanor T. McLaughlin
Third Labour Lord Provost, first woman and first Catholic to hold the office since the reformation. (b. 1938-).

1994- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for Hampshire F. Mary Fagan, JP
(b. 1939-)

1995- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for Cornwall Lady Mary Holborow

1995-2008 Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for Lincolnshire Bridget K. Cracroft-Eley
(b. 1933-)

1996-99 Lord Lieutenant and Lord Provost of Aberdeen Margaret Farquhar
In Scotland the Lord Mayor is named Lord Provost.

1997-2001 Regional Director of the Government Office for the Region of the North West Marianne Neville-Rolfe

1998- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for Surrey Sara Goad

1998- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for Powys The Hon. Sháh Legge-Bourke

1998-2007 Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for Roxburgh, Eltrich and Lauderdale Dr. June Paterson-Brown

1998- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for Northamptonshire Lady Juliet Townsend

1999-2003 Lord Lieutenant and Lord Provost of Aberdeen Margaret Smith
In Scotland the Lord Mayor is named Lord Provost.

1999-2003 Lord-Lieutenant and Lord Provost of Dundee Helen Wright
In Scotland the Lord Mayor is named Lord Provost.

1999- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for Fife Margaret Dean

2000- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for Somerset Lady Elizabeth Gass

2000-09 Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for the County Borough of Belfast Lady Romaine Carswell

2000- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for East Sussex Phyllida Stewart-Roberts
Vice-Lord-Lt. 1996-2000

2000-03 and 2004-08 Deputy Mayor of London Nicky Gavron
She was the Labour Candidate for the Post of Mayor for the elections in 2004. From 2008 the Mayor and all Deputy Mayors are men and there is only one female Department Director.

2000-01 and 2002 Deputy Chairperson of London Assembly The Baroness Hamwee  
2001-02 and 2002-04 and 2005-06 and 2007-08 Chairperson
Sally Hamwee was Councillor in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames 1978-98 and Liberal Democrat candidate for the post of Lord Mayor in 2000. Chair of various committies. She will be in office until May 2006 and is expected to chair the Assembly again from May 2007 until the following year. She is also active in the House of Lords where she became a member in 1991. (b. 1947-).

2001- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for the Area of Angus Georgiana Osborne

2001- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for the Area of Clackmannan Sheena Cruickshank,

2002- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for West Lothian Isobel Brydie

2002- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for Banffshire Clare Macpherson-Grant Russell
She is the Laird of Ballindalloch Castle, which her family have owned since the early 18th century, and she is the auther of cook books.

2003- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for Leicestershire Lady Gretton
Deputy Lieutenant from 2001.

2003- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for Caithness Anne Dunnett
Deputy Lieutenant since 1999, she is also a Honorary Sheriff at Wick

2003-07 Lord-Lieutenant and Lord Provost of Glasgow Liz Cameron

2003-07 Lord-Lieutenant and Lord Provost of Edinburgh Lesley Hinds
Member of the Edinburgh District Council in 1984 and later leader of the district council. From 1996 member of the new City of Edinburgh unitary authority.

2004-  Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for West Yorkshire Dr. Ingrid Roscoe

2005- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for Stirling and Falkirk Marjory McLachlan
Deputy Lord-Lieutenant 2001-05 and involved in charities for decades. (b. 1942-).

2006- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for Dorset Valerie Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers
Worked for charities for many years and Deputy Lieutenant 1995-2006. (b. 1939-).

2006 Her Majesty's Lord Lieutenant for the Area of Dumfries Jean Douglas Tulloch (Scotland)

2006- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for Wigtown Marion Brewis (Scotland)                            
Former highranking civil servant

2006- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for Merseyside Dame Lorna Elizabeth Fox Muirhead
Former Midwife and teacher, President of the Royal College of Midwives 1997-2004 and Deputy Lieutenant 2003-06. (b. 1943-).

2007- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for Kincardineshire Carol Kinghorn
A physiotherapist she is invlved in various charitable works. (b. 1946-).

2007- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for Hertfordshire The Countess of Verulam
Dione is an artist and involved in the National Trust and other organisations. High Sheriff of Hertfordshire in 2002-03. Mother of 4 children. (b. 1955-).

2007- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for Hertfordshire Mary Prior
Deputy Lieutenant since 1996. Chairperson of a number of charities and public board. (b. 1942-)

2008- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for the Royal County of Berkshire The Hon. Mary Bayliss
Daughter of a former Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire, former Chairman of the Reading Bench, High Sheriff of Berkshire in 2005-06, Deputy Lieutenant in 2007 and member of a number of other committees. (b. 1940-).

2008- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for the County of Antrim Joan Christie
Active in many public and voluntary bodies. She is a former civil servant and was Assistant Private Secretary to successive Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland until 1979, Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Antrim from 2005. (b. 1944-).

2008- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Herefordshire the Countess of Darnley
Susan Elaine Anderson was a Magistrate from 1977-2005 and Chairperson of the Family Panel until she retired from the Bench, and Deputy Lieutenant for Worcestershire 2000-08. Married to Adam Ivo Stuart Bligh, 11th Earl of Darnley and mother of a son and a daughter. (b. 1945-).

2008- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of West Sussex Susan Pyper
Chairperson of the Royal West Sussex NHS Trust 2005-09, Chairperson of the Regional Environment Protection Advisory Committee. (b. 1952-).

2008-09 Chairperson of the London Assembly Jennette Arnold

2009- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Belfast Dame Mary Peters
A former athlete and Olymipc gold medal winner, a Trustee of The Outward Bound Trust since 2001 and Vice President of the Northern Ireland Outward Bound Association. Also Patron of Springhill Hospice in Rochdale, Lancashire. (b. 1939-).

2009- Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Northumberland The Duchess of Northumberland
Jane Percy née Richard. She is the 13th member of the family to hold the post since the late 1400s, latest her father-in-law Hugh Percy, the 10th Duke who held the position from 1956-84. She is married to Ralph Percy, who succeeded his brother as 12th Duke in 1995, and mother of 4 children.

The Confederation of the Cinque Ports
A confederation concerned with the naval defence of the English southeastern coast - most probably already existed before the Norman conquest of 1066. The importance of the Ports gradually declined and by the middle of the 19th century they had lost most of their privileges and rights. 


1949    Speaker of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports  Annabel Windsor Farnfield, Lord Mayor of Hasting

1952-53 Speaker of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports Lilian Elizabeth Farmer, Lord Mayor of  Hythe

1960-61 Speaker of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports Dorothy Bushell, Lord Mayor of Dover

1971-72 Speaker of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports Elsie Philpot, Lord Mayor of  Rye

1978-79 Speaker of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports Joan Gwendolen Yates, Lord Mayor of  Rye

1979-2002 Lord Warden HM Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother

1979-80 Speaker of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports Elizabeth Dunn Wells, Lord Mayor of New Romney

1981-82 Speaker of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports Edith Hadden, Lord Mayor of  Dover

1993-94 Speaker of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports Adele S. Alderton, Lord Mayor of New Romney

1996-97 Speaker of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports Winifred Mary Laslett, Lord Mayor of Sandwich

1999-2000  Speaker of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports Geraldine Ann Bromley, Lord Mayor of Rye

2000-01 Speaker of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports Carole J. Waters, Lord Mayor of New Romney

2002-03 Speaker of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports Diane G. Smallwood, Lord Mayor of  Dover

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Last update 11.06.09