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List of mayors of Belfast facts for kids

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Lord Mayor of Belfast
Coat of Arms of Belfast.png
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

Belfast City Hall 2
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

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
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
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
57 2000 2001 Sammy Wilson
Official portrait of Sammy Wilson crop 2.jpg
DUP
58 2001 2002 Jim Rodgers
Lord Mayor Bill Rodgers-cropped (cropped).jpg
UUP
59 2002 2003 Alex Maskey
Alex Maskey.jpg
Sinn Féin
60 2003 2004 Martin Morgan
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SDLP
61 2004 2005 Tom Ekin
No-Image-Placeholder.svg
Alliance
62 2005 2006 Wallace Browne
Official portrait of Lord Browne of Belmont 2020 crop 3.jpg
DUP
63 2006 2007 Patrick McCarthy
No-Image-Placeholder.svg
SDLP
64 2007 2008 Jim Rodgers
Lord Mayor Bill Rodgers-cropped (cropped).jpg
UUP
65 2008 2009 Tom Hartley
Tom Hartley, 2016 (cropped).jpg
Sinn Féin
66 2009 2010 Naomi Long
Naomi Long cropped and brightned from UK Interfaith Leaders (8738792158).jpg
Alliance
67 2010 2011 Pat Convery
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SDLP
68 2011 2012 Niall Ó Donnghaile
Niall Ó Donnghaile (cropped).jpg
Sinn Féin
69 2012 2013 Gavin Robinson
GavinRobinsonDUP.jpg
DUP
70 2013 2014 Máirtín Ó Muilleoir
Máirtín Ó Muilleoir.jpg
Sinn Féin
71 2014 2015 Nichola Mallon
Nichola Mallon - SDLP Lord Mayor of Belfast.jpg
SDLP
72 2015 2016 Arder Carson
Arder Carson.jpg
Sinn Féin
73 2016 2017 Brian Kingston
Brian Kingston MLA outside Parliament Buildings, Stormont (cropped).jpg
DUP
74 2017 2018 Nuala McAllister
Nuala McAllister, MLA 2024.jpg
Alliance
75 2018 2019 Deirdre Hargey
Deirdre Hargey.jpg
Sinn Féin
76 2019 2019 John Finucane
John Finucane MP (cropped).jpg
Sinn Féin
77 2019 2020 Danny Baker
Danny Baker elected Mayor of Belfast (49243008166).jpg
Sinn Féin
78 2020 2021 Frank McCoubrey
No-Image-Placeholder.svg
DUP
79 2021 2022 Kate Nicholl
K Nicholl MLA 24.jpg
Alliance
80 2022 2022 Michael Long
Michael Long.jpg
Alliance
81 2022 2023 Tina Black
Tina Black, 2019 (cropped).jpg
Sinn Féin
82 2023 2024 Ryan Murphy
No-Image-Placeholder.svg
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
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
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

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