List of mayors of Belfast facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lord Mayor of Belfast |
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![]() Coat of arms of Belfast
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Incumbent
Tracy Kelly since 2 June 2025 |
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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.
Contents
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 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
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
No. | From | To | Name | Party | |
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1 | 1892 | 1893 | Daniel Dixon | Irish Unionist | |
2 | 1894 | 1896 | William McCammond | Irish Unionist | |
3 | 1896 | 1898 | William James Pirrie | Liberal | |
4 | 1898 | 1899 | James Henderson | Irish Unionist | |
5 | 1899 | 1900 | Otto Jaffe | Irish Unionist |
20th Century Lord Mayors
No. | From | To | Name | Party | |
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6 | 1900 | 1901 | Sir Robert J. McConnell | Irish Unionist | |
7 | 1901 | 1904 | Sir Daniel Dixon | Irish Unionist | |
8 | 1904 | 1905 | Sir Otto Jaffe | Irish Unionist | |
9 | 1905 | 1907 | Sir Daniel Dixon | Irish Unionist | |
10 | 1907 | 1908 | The 9th Earl of Shaftesbury | Irish Unionist | |
11 | 1908 | 1910 | Sir Robert Anderson | Irish Unionist | |
12 | 1910 | 1914 | Robert James McMordie | Irish Unionist | |
13 | 1914 | 1917 | Sir Crawford McCullagh | Irish Unionist | |
14 | 1917 | 1919 | James Johnston | Irish Unionist | |
15 | 1919 | 1920 | John Campbell White | Irish Unionist | |
16 | 1920 | 1923 | William F. Coates | UUP | |
17 | 1923 | 1929 | William George Turner | UUP | |
18 | 1929 | 1931 | Sir William F. Coates | UUP | |
19 | 1931 | 1942 | Sir Crawford McCullagh | UUP | |
20 | 1942 | 1942 | George Ruddell Black | UUP | |
21 | 1943 | 1946 | Sir Crawford McCullagh | UUP | |
22 | 1946 | 1949 | Sir William F. Neill | UUP | |
23 | 1949 | 1951 | William E. G. Johnston | UUP | |
24 | 1951 | 1953 | James Henry Norritt | UUP | |
25 | 1953 | 1955 | Sir Percival Brown | UUP | |
26 | 1955 | 1957 | Sir Robert Harcourt | UUP | |
27 | 1957 | 1959 | Cecil McKee | UUP | |
28 | 1959 | 1961 | Robin Kinahan | UUP | |
29 | 1961 | 1963 | Martin Kelso Wallace | UUP | |
30 | 1963 | 1966 | William Jenkins | UUP | |
31 | 1966 | 1969 | William Duncan Geddis | UUP | |
32 | 1969 | 1972 | Joseph Foster Cairns | UUP | |
33 | 1972 | 1975 | Sir William Christie | UUP | |
34 | 1975 | 1977 | Sir Myles Humphreys | UUP | |
35 | 1977 | 1978 | James Stewart | UUP | |
36 | 1978 | 1979 | David Cook | Alliance | |
37 | 1979 | 1980 | Billy Bell | UUP | |
38 | 1980 | 1981 | John Carson | UUP | |
39 | 1981 | 1982 | Grace Bannister | UUP | |
40 | 1982 | 1983 | Thomas Patton | UUP | |
41 | 1983 | 1985 | Alfie Ferguson | UUP | |
42 | 1985 | 1986 | John Carson | UUP | |
43 | 1986 | 1987 | Sammy Wilson | DUP | |
44 | 1987 | 1988 | J.J. Dixon Gilmore | UUP | |
45 | 1988 | 1989 | Nigel Dodds | DUP | |
46 | 1989 | 1990 | Reg Empey | UUP | |
47 | 1990 | 1991 | Fred Cobain | UUP | |
48 | 1991 | 1992 | Nigel Dodds | DUP | |
49 | 1992 | 1993 | Herbert Ditty | UUP | |
50 | 1993 | 1994 | Reg Empey | UUP | |
51 | 1994 | 1995 | Hugh Smyth | PUP | |
52 | 1995 | 1996 | Eric Smyth | DUP | |
53 | 1996 | 1997 | Ian Adamson | UUP | |
54 | 1997 | 1998 | Alban Maginness | SDLP | |
55 | 1998 | 1999 | David Alderdice | Alliance | |
56 | 1999 | 2000 | Bob Stoker | UUP |
21st Century Lord Mayors
No. | From | To | Name | Image | Party | |
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57 | 2000 | 2001 | Sammy Wilson |
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DUP | |
58 | 2001 | 2002 | Jim Rodgers |
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UUP | |
59 | 2002 | 2003 | Alex Maskey |
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Sinn Féin | |
60 | 2003 | 2004 | Martin Morgan |
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SDLP | |
61 | 2004 | 2005 | Tom Ekin |
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Alliance | |
62 | 2005 | 2006 | Wallace Browne |
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DUP | |
63 | 2006 | 2007 | Patrick McCarthy |
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SDLP | |
64 | 2007 | 2008 | Jim Rodgers |
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UUP | |
65 | 2008 | 2009 | Tom Hartley |
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Sinn Féin | |
66 | 2009 | 2010 | Naomi Long |
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Alliance | |
67 | 2010 | 2011 | Pat Convery |
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SDLP | |
68 | 2011 | 2012 | Niall Ó Donnghaile |
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Sinn Féin | |
69 | 2012 | 2013 | Gavin Robinson |
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DUP | |
70 | 2013 | 2014 | Máirtín Ó Muilleoir |
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Sinn Féin | |
71 | 2014 | 2015 | Nichola Mallon |
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SDLP | |
72 | 2015 | 2016 | Arder Carson |
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Sinn Féin | |
73 | 2016 | 2017 | Brian Kingston |
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DUP | |
74 | 2017 | 2018 | Nuala McAllister |
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Alliance | |
75 | 2018 | 2019 | Deirdre Hargey |
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Sinn Féin | |
76 | 2019 | 2019 | John Finucane |
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Sinn Féin | |
77 | 2019 | 2020 | Danny Baker |
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Sinn Féin | |
78 | 2020 | 2021 | Frank McCoubrey |
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DUP | |
79 | 2021 | 2022 | Kate Nicholl |
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Alliance | |
80 | 2022 | 2022 | Michael Long |
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Alliance | |
81 | 2022 | 2023 | Tina Black |
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Sinn Féin | |
82 | 2023 | 2024 | Ryan Murphy |
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Sinn Féin | |
83 | 2024 | 2025 | Micky Murray |
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Alliance |
Deputy Lord Mayors
20th Century Deputy Lord Mayors
No. | From | To | Name | Party | |
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1 | 1975 | 1977 | Grace Bannister | UUP | |
1977 | 1979 | No one in this role | |||
2 | 1978 | 1979 | Dorothy Dunlop | UUP | |
1979 | 1980 | No one in this role | |||
1980 | 1981 | No one in this role | |||
3 | 1981 | 1982 | Frank Millar | Ind U | |
4 | 1982 | 1983 | Frederick Edward (Ted) Ashby | DUP | |
5 | 1983 | 1984 | Hugh Smyth | PUP | |
6 | 1984 | 1985 | Billy Blair | UUP | |
7 | 1985 | 1986 | Billy Dickson | DUP | |
8 | 1986 | 1987 | Dixie Gilmore | UUP | |
1987 | 1988 | No one in this role | |||
9 | 1988 | 1989 | Reg Empey | UUP | |
1989 | 1990 | No one in this role | |||
10 | 1990 | 1991 | Eric Smyth | DUP | |
12 | 1991 | 1992 | Herbert Ditty | UUP | |
13 | 1992 | 1993 | Frank Millar | Ind U | |
14 | 1993 | 1994 | Hugh Smyth | PUP | |
15 | 1994 | 1995 | Ian Adamson | UUP | |
16 | 1995 | 1996 | Alasdair McDonnell | SDLP | |
17 | 1996 | 1997 | Margaret Crooks | UUP | |
18 | 1997 | 1998 | Jim Rodgers | UUP | |
19 | 1998 | 1999 | Bob Stoker | UUP | |
20 | 1999 | 2000 | Marie Moore | Sinn Féin |
21st Century Deputy Lord Mayors
No. | From | To | Name | Party | |
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21 | 2000 | 2001 | Frank McCoubrey | Ulster Democratic | |
22 | 2001 | 2002 | Hugh Smyth | PUP | |
2002 | 2003 | No one in this role | |||
23 | 2003 | 2004 | Margaret Crooks | UUP | |
24 | 2004 | 2005 | Joe O'Donnell | Sinn Féin | |
25 | 2005 | 2006 | Pat Convery | SDLP | |
26 | 2006 | 2007 | Ruth Patterson | DUP | |
27 | 2007 | 2008 | Bernie Kelly | SDLP | |
28 | 2008 | 2009 | David Browne | UUP | |
29 | 2009 | 2010 | Danny Lavery | Sinn Féin | |
30 | 2010 | 2011 | William Humphrey | DUP | |
31 | 2011 | 2012 | Ruth Patterson | DUP | |
32 | 2012 | 2013 | Tierna Cunningham | Sinn Féin | |
33 | 2013 | 2014 | Christopher Stalford | DUP | |
34 | 2014 | 2015 | Máire Hendron | Alliance | |
35 | 2015 | 2016 | Guy Spence | DUP | |
36 | 2016 | 2017 | Mary Ellen Campbell | Sinn Féin | |
37 | 2017 | 2018 | Sonia Copeland | UUP | |
38 | 2018 | 2019 | Emmet McDonough-Brown | Alliance | |
39 | 2019 | 2020 | Peter McReynolds | Alliance | |
40 | 2020 | 2021 | Paul McCusker | SDLP | |
41 | 2021 | 2022 | Tom Haire | DUP | |
42 | 2022 | 2023 | Michelle Kelly | Alliance | |
43 | 2023 | 2024 | Áine Groogan | Green (NI) | |
44 | 2024 | 2025 | Andrew McCormick | DUP |
See Also
- Lord Mayor of Dublin
- Lord Mayor of Cork