Lord Lieutenant

The Lord Lieutenant (/lɛfˈtɛnənt/) is the Queen's personal representative in each county of the United Kingdom. Historically the Lord Lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia, but it is today a largely ceremonial position, usually awarded to a retired notable, military officer, nobleman, or businessman in the county. The office can be considered viceregal, but not equivalent to that of a Lieutenant Governor in the Crown Dependencies, a Governor in the Overseas Territories or (until 1972) the Governor of Northern Ireland, as Lords Lieutenant have virtually no role in local government, nor are they responsible for promulgating local ordinances in the monarch's name.

Origins

England and Wales

Lieutenants were first appointed to a number of English counties by King Henry VIII in the 1540s, when the military functions of the sheriff were handed over to him. He raised and was responsible for the efficiency of the local militia units of the county, and afterwards of the yeomanry, and volunteers. He was commander of these forces, whose officers he appointed. These commissions were originally of temporary duration, and only when the situation required the local militia to be specially supervised and well prepared; often where invasion by Scotland or France might be expected.