Deputy Lieutenant

In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is a Crown appointment and one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area: an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county.

In formal style, the postnominal letters DL may be added: e.g. John Brown, CBE, DL. Should the subject have numerous more important honorifics these postnoms may be omitted, although this is rare.

Deputy Lieutenants are nominated by the Lord Lieutenant, to assist with any duties as may be required: see the Lieutenancies Act 1997; Deputy Lieutenants receive their commission of appointment via the appropriate HM Government Minister by command of The Queen. In England and Wales, since November 2001, the government minister responsible for most appointments is the Lord Chancellor, with exceptions such as the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. In Scotland, since July 1999 it has been the Scottish Ministers.

Today, the number of Deputy Lieutenants for each county may be well over a dozen. The number of DLs today correlates with the population of each respective county. DLs tend to be people who either have served the local community, or have a history of public service in other fields.