List of mayors of Belfast facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lord Mayor of Belfast
Coat of arms of Belfast
Incumbent Tracy Kelly since 2 June 2025
Style	The Right Honourable
Appointer	Belfast City Council
Term length	One year
Inaugural holder	Sir Daniel Dixon (Lord Mayor) George Dunbar (Mayor) John Vesey (Sovereign)
Formation	1892 (as Lord Mayor of Belfast) 1842 (as Mayor of Belfast) 1613 (as Sovereign of Belfast)
Deputy	Paul Doherty.

The Lord Mayor of Belfast is a very important person in the city of Belfast. This person leads and chairs the Belfast City Council. Each year, the 60 councillors of the city choose one of their own to be the Lord Mayor.

The Lord Mayor also acts as the main representative for Belfast. They welcome important visitors from all over the United Kingdom and Ireland. The current Lord Mayor is Tracy Kelly from the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland. She has been the Lord Mayor since June 2, 2025. The Deputy Lord Mayor is Paul Doherty from the Social Democratic and Labour Party.

What is the Lord Mayor's Role?

The Lord Mayor has several key jobs and responsibilities:

• They lead meetings of the city council. If there's a tie vote, the Lord Mayor gets to cast the deciding vote.
• They help promote and raise awareness about the council's main goals for Belfast.
• They support different parts of life in Belfast by attending many public events.
• They welcome important guests who visit the city.
• They host official events for the council and the people of Belfast.
• They speak for Belfast to local, national, and international news.
• They respond on behalf of Belfast during big events like natural disasters.
• They support charities and other important causes.
• They help promote Belfast as a great place for business, culture, and tourism.

History of the Lord Mayor

The Lord Mayor's office is usually found in Belfast City Hall.

The role of Lord Mayor has a long history. It started in 1613 when Belfast was just a town. Back then, the leader was called the Sovereign of Belfast.

In 1842, the title changed to Mayor of Belfast. Then, in 1892, Belfast became a city. Four years later, the position was upgraded to Lord Mayor. This made Belfast one of only three cities in Ireland with a Lord Mayor, along with Cork and Dublin.

In 1929, Belfast's Lord Mayor gained the special title "the Right Honourable." This meant it was one of only six cities in the United Kingdom with this honor. For a long time, the Lord Mayor served for three years. But since 1973, the term has been one year.

For much of Belfast's recent history, the Lord Mayor was usually from a political group called Unionists. For example, between 1921 and 1997, members of the Ulster Unionist Party held the job for 61 out of 67 years.

The first Lord Mayor who was not a Unionist since 1921 was David Cook from the Alliance Party, elected in 1978. The first nationalist Lord Mayor, Alban Maginness from the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), was chosen in 1997. A Sinn Féin Lord Mayor was first elected in 2002.

Since 1997, Unionists no longer have the most seats on the city council. This has led to different political parties taking turns as Lord Mayor. This is decided using a system called the D'Hondt system, which helps share important roles fairly among the parties.

Deputy Lord Mayor's Role

The Deputy Lord Mayor also represents Belfast, working alongside the Lord Mayor. If the Lord Mayor is busy or can't do their job, the Deputy Lord Mayor steps in to handle those duties.

While serving as Deputy Lord Mayor, they also continue their regular work as a city councillor, including being part of council committees.

Monuments Honoring Past Leaders

• Monuments in the grounds of Belfast City Hall
• 

  James Horner Haslett
  Mayor of Belfast
  1887–88

• 

  William James Pirrie
  Lord Mayor of Belfast
  1896–98

• 

  Sir Daniel Dixon
  Lord Mayor of Belfast
  1892–93, 1901–04 & 1905–07

• 

  Robert James McMordie
  Lord Mayor of Belfast
  1910–14

Lord Mayors of Belfast (1892–present)

Here is a list of the Lord Mayors of Belfast since the position was created in 1892.

19th Century Lord Mayors

20th Century Lord Mayors

21st Century Lord Mayors

No.	From	To	Name	Image	Party
57	2000	2001	Sammy Wilson			DUP
58	2001	2002	Jim Rodgers			UUP
59	2002	2003	Alex Maskey			Sinn Féin
60	2003	2004	Martin Morgan			SDLP
61	2004	2005	Tom Ekin			Alliance
62	2005	2006	Wallace Browne			DUP
63	2006	2007	Patrick McCarthy			SDLP
64	2007	2008	Jim Rodgers			UUP
65	2008	2009	Tom Hartley			Sinn Féin
66	2009	2010	Naomi Long			Alliance
67	2010	2011	Pat Convery			SDLP
68	2011	2012	Niall Ó Donnghaile			Sinn Féin
69	2012	2013	Gavin Robinson			DUP
70	2013	2014	Máirtín Ó Muilleoir			Sinn Féin
71	2014	2015	Nichola Mallon			SDLP
72	2015	2016	Arder Carson			Sinn Féin
73	2016	2017	Brian Kingston			DUP
74	2017	2018	Nuala McAllister			Alliance
75	2018	2019	Deirdre Hargey			Sinn Féin
76	2019	2019	John Finucane			Sinn Féin
77	2019	2020	Danny Baker			Sinn Féin
78	2020	2021	Frank McCoubrey			DUP
79	2021	2022	Kate Nicholl			Alliance
80	2022	2022	Michael Long			Alliance
81	2022	2023	Tina Black			Sinn Féin
82	2023	2024	Ryan Murphy			Sinn Féin
83	2024	2025	Micky Murray			Alliance

Deputy Lord Mayors

20th Century Deputy Lord Mayors

21st Century Deputy Lord Mayors

See Also

• Lord Mayor of Dublin
• Lord Mayor of Cork