# List of mayors of Manchester

This is a list of the lord mayors of the City of Manchester in the North West of England. Not to be confused with the Directly elected Greater Manchester mayor.
The current and 126th lord mayor is Paul Andrews, Labour, who has served Since May 2024, and was elected councillor for the Moston ward.
The lord mayor position, is selected by a vote of councillors, and is a ceremonial role, with the holder attending civic events, promoting chosen causes and chairing meetings of Manchester City Council, while acting as a city Ambassador. The lord mayor’s term lasts for one year, and a new lord mayor Is elected in a full council meeting, usually in May.

## History

Manchester was incorporated in 1838 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 as the Corporation of Manchester or Manchester Corporation. It achieved city status in 1853, only the second such grant since the Reformation. The area included in the city has been increased many times, in 1885 (Bradford, Harpurhey and Rusholme), 1890 (Blackley, Crumpsall, part of Droylsden, Kirkmanshulme, Moston, Newton Heath, Openshaw, and West Gorton), 1903 (Heaton), 1904 (Burnage, Chorlton cum Hardy, Didsbury, and Moss Side), 1909 (Gorton, and Levenshulme), 1931 (Wythenshawe: Baguley, Northenden, and Northen Etchells), and Ringway. A new town hall was opened in 1877 (by Alderman Abel Heywood) and the then-current and future mayors of Manchester were granted the title of Lord Mayor in 1893. Anthony Marshall was the last mayor and the first lord mayor.
In 1984, the city council – at that time controlled by the Labour party – voted to reduce the pomp and rate-payer cost associated with the position, changing the title to Chair of the Manchester City Council (often shortened), following the lead of some Greater London boroughs. This change dispensed with the elaborate robes and chain of office (a gilded ornament worn on the shoulders and around the neck), and no longer provided the traditional tax-funded, eight-room apartment for the officeholder to live in (instead opening this fancy traditional residence to the public as a tourist attraction). These changes were unpopular in the area, especially after focused agitation against them by the Manchester Evening News, which labelled them a political move originated by non-local leftist activists. The title Lord Mayor continued to be used frequently, especially outside the city council. The first of the three successive chairs of council was Kenneth Strath in the 1985–1986 term, and the last was Eileen Kelly, 1987–1988, Later officeholders were referred to again as lord mayors consistently, and permitted to use the traditional vestments associated with the office. Today, vestments have returned and the title Lord Mayor is used.

## Mayors of Manchester
### 1838–1893

| No. | Mayor | Tenure began | Tenure ended | Terms | Notes |
| 1 | Sir Thomas Potter | 1838 | 1840 | 2 | Father of Sir John Potter, who was mayor 1848–1851 |
| 2 | William Neild | 1840 | 1842 | 2 | |
| 3 | James Kershaw | 1842 | 1843 | 1 | |
| 4 | Alexander Kay | 1843 | 1845 | 2 | |
| 5 | William Benjamin Watkins | 1845 | 1846 | 1 | |
| 6 | Sir Elkanah Armitage | 1846 | 1848 | 2 | |
| 7 | Sir John Potter | 1848 | 1851 | 3 | Son of Sir Thomas Potter, who was mayor 1838–1840 |
| 8 | Robert Barnes | 1851 | 1853 | 2 | |
| 9 | Benjamin Nicholls | 1853 | 1855 | 2 | |
| 10 | Sir James Watts | 1855 | 1857 | 2 | |
| 11 | Ivie Mackie | 1857 | 1860 | 3 | |
| 12 | Matthew Curtis | 1860 | 1861 | 1 | 1st term |
| 13 | Thomas Goadsby | 1861 | 1862 | 1 | |
| 14 | Abel Heywood | 1862 | 1863 | 1 | 1st term |
| 15 | John Marsland Bennett | 1863 | 1865 | 2 | |
| 16 | William Bowker | 1865 | 1866 | 1 | |
| 17 | Robert Neill | 1866 | 1868 | 2 | |
| 18 | John Grave | 1868 | 1871 | 3 | |
| 19 | William Booth | 1871 | 1873 | 2 | |
| 20 | Alfred Watkin | 1873 | 1874 | 1 | |
| 21 | John King | 1874 | 1875 | 1 | |
| 22 | Matthew Curtis | 1875 | 1876 | 1 | 2nd term |
| 23 | Abel Heywood | 1876 | 1877 | 1 | 2nd term |
| 24 | Charles Sydney Grundy | 1877 | 1879 | 2 | |
| 25 | Henry Patteson | 1879 | 1880 | 1 | |
| 26 | Sir Thomas Baker | 1880 | 1882 | 2 | |
| 27 | John Hopkinson | 1882 | 1883 | 1 | |
| 28 | Philip Goldschmidt | 1883 | 1884 | 1 | 1st term |
| 29 | Sir John James Harwood | 1884 | 1885 | 1 | 1st term |
| 30 | Philip Goldschmidt | 1885 | 1886 | 1 | 2nd term |
| 31 | Matthew Curtis | 1886 | 1887 | 1 | 3rd term |
| 32 | Sir John James Harwood | 1887 | 1888 | 2 | 2nd term |
| 33 | William Batty | 1888 | 1889 | 1 | |
| 34 | Sir John Mark | 1889 | 1891 | 2 | First mayor of the County Borough |
| 35 | Sir Bosdin Thomas Leech | 1891 | 1892 | 1 | |
| 36 | Anthony Marshall | 1892 | 1893 | 2 | First term |

## Lord mayors of Manchester
### 19th century

| No. | Lord mayor | Tenure began | Tenure ended | Term(s) | Notes |
| 1 | Sir Anthony Marshall | 1893 | 1894 | 2 | Second term; knighted at the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal on 21 May 1894 |
| 2 | Abraham Evans Lloyd | 1894 | 1896 | 2 | |
| 3 | John Foulkes Roberts | 1896 | 1897 | 1 | |
| 4 | Robert Gibson | 1897 | 1898 | 1 | |
| 5 | Sir William Henry Vaudrey | 1898 | 1899 | 1 | |
| 6 | Thomas Briggs | 1899 | 1901 | 2 | Briggs was born in 1830 in Little Heaton, Prestwich. Son of James Briggs, manufacturer, Blackley, Manchester. Director Royal Exchange, Manchester. |

### 20th century

| No. | Lord Mayor | Tenure Begin | Tenure End | Terms | Notes |
| 7 | Sir James Hoy | 1901 | 1902 | 1 | |
| 8 | John Royle | 1902 | 1903 | 1 | Liberal party |
| 9 | Sir Thomas Thornhill Shann | 1903 | 1905 | 2 | |
| 10 | James Herbert Thewlis | 1905 | 1906 | 1 | |
| 11 | John Harrop | 1906 | 1907 | 1 | |
| 12 | Sir Edward Holt | 1907 | 1909 | 2 | |
| 13 | Sir Charles Behrens | 1909 | 1911 | 2 | |
| 14 | Sir Samuel Walter Royse | 1911 | 1913 | 2 | |
| 15 | Sir Daniel McCabe | 1913 | 1915 | 2 | |
| 16 | Arthur George Copeland | 1915 | 1916 | 1 | |
| 17 | Sir Thomas Smethhurst | 1916 | 1917 | 1 | |
| 18 | Sir Alexander Porter | 1917 | 1918 | 1 | |
| 19 | John Makeague | 1918 | 1919 | 1 | |
| 20 | Sir William Kay | 1919 | 1919 | 1 | 1st term |
| 21 | Tom Fox | 1919 | 1920 | 1 | |
| 22 | Sir William Kay | 1920 | 1921 | 1 | 2nd term |
| 23 | Ernest Emil Darwin Simon | 1921 | 1922 | 1 | Knighted in 1932, created Baron Simon of Wythenshawe in 1947 |
| 24 | Sir William Cundiff | 1922 | 1923 | 1 | |
| 25 | William Turner Jackson | 1923 | 1924 | 1 | |
| 26 | Sir Frederick Joseph West | 1924 | 1925 | 1 | |
| 27 | Sir Miles Ewart Mitchell | 1925 | 1926 | 1 | |
| 28 | James Henry Swales | 1926 | 1927 | 1 | |
| 29 | Sir William Davy | 1927 | 1928 | 1 | |
| 30 | Lt-Col George Westcott | 1928 | 1929 | 1 | |
| 31 | Sir Robert Noton Barclay | 1929 | 1930 | 1 | |
| 32 | George Frank Titt | 1930 | 1931 | 1 | |
| 33 | Ellis Green | 1931 | 1932 | 1 | |
| 34 | Sir William Walker | 1932 | 1933 | 1 | |
| 35 | Joseph Binns | 1933 | 1934 | 1 | |
| 36 | Samuel Woollam | 1934 | 1935 | 1 | |
| 37 | Thomas Stone Williams | 1935 | 1936 | 1 | |
| 38 | Joseph Toole | 1936 | 1937 | 1 | |
| 39 | Joseph Crookes Grime | 1937 | 1938 | 1 | |
| 40 | Sir William Kay | 1938 | 1938 | 1 | 3rd term |
| 41 | Elijah John Hart | 1938 | 1939 | 1 | |
| 42 | George Harold White | 1939 | 1940 | 1 | |
| 43 | Robert Griffith Edwards | 1940 | 1941 | 1 | |
| 44 | Wright Robinson | 1941 | 1942 | 1 | |
| 45 | John Septimus Hill | 1942 | 1943 | 1 | |
| 46 | Leonard Bramwell Cox | 1943 | 1944 | 1 | |
| 47 | William Philip Jackson | 1944 | 1945 | 1 | |
| 48 | Hugh Lee | 1945 | 1946 | 1 | Father of Hugh Lee, who was Lord Mayor 1981–1982 |
| 49 | Thomas Henry Adams | 1946 | 1947 | 1 | |
| 50 | Dame Mary Latchford Kingsmill Jones | 1947 | 1949 | 2 | First woman to hold the office |
| 51 | Robert Moss | 1949 | 1950 | 1 | |
| 52 | Colonel Samuel Percy Dawson | 1950 | 1951 | 1 | |
| 53 | William Collingson | 1951 | 1952 | 1 | |
| 54 | Douglas Gosling | 1952 | 1953 | 1 | |
| 55 | Abraham Moss | 1953 | 1954 | 1 | |
| 56 | Sir Richard Harper | 1954 | 1955 | 1 | |
| 57 | Tom Regan | 1955 | 1956 | 1 | |
| 58 | Harry Sharp | 1956 | 1957 | 1 | |
| 59 | Sir Leslie Lever MP | 1957 | 1958 | 1 | Created Baron Lever in 1975. |
| 60 | James Edward Fitzsimons | 1958 | 1959 | 1 | |
| 61 | Harold Quinney | 1959 | 1960 | 1 | |
| 62 | Arthur Donovan | 1960 | 1961 | 1 | |
| 63 | Sir Lionel Biggs | 1961 | 1962 | 1 | |
| 64 | Robert E. Thomas | 1962 | 1963 | 1 | |
| 65 | Robert Carr Rogers | 1963 | 1964 | 1 | |
| 66 | Dr William Chadwick | 1964 | 1965 | 1 | |
| 67 | Bernard Sydney Langton | 1965 | 1966 | 1 | |
| 68 | Nellie Beer | 1966 | 1967 | 1 | Conservative. |
| 69 | Dame Elizabeth Yarwood | 1967 | 1968 | 1 | |
| 70 | Harold Stockdale | 1968 | 1969 | 1 | |
| 71 | Neil Gowanloch Westbrook | 1969 | 1970 | 1 | |
| 72 | William Atkinson Downward | 1970 | 1971 | 1 | |
| 73 | Douglas John Edwards | 1971 | 1972 | 1 | |
| 74 | Edward Grant | 1972 | 1973 | 1 | |
| 75 | Kenneth Collis | 1973 | 1974 | 1 | Opened T1 Manchester Airport and also given an OBE in 1992 |
| 76 | Frederick Balcombe | 1974 | 1975 | 1 | First lord mayor of the Metropolitan Borough |
| 77 | Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw | 1975 | 1976 | 1 | |
| 78 | Kenneth Franklin | 1976 | 1977 | 1 | |
| 79 | Robert Crawford | 1977 | 1978 | 1 | |
| 80 | Trevor Thomas | 1978 | 1979 | 1 | |
| 81 | G.W.G. Fitzsimons | 1979 | 1980 | 1 | |
| 82 | Winnie Smith | 1980 | 1981 | 1 | |
| 83 | Hugh Lee | 1981 | 1982 | 1 | Son of Hugh Lee, (who was Lord Mayor 1945–1946) |
| 84 | Clifford Tomlinson | 1982 | 1983 | 1 | |
| 85 | Dr M. J. Taylor | 1983 | 1984 | 1 | Son of Joe Taylor, founder and first chairman of the Greater Manchester Council |
| 86 | Harold Tucker | 1984 | 1985 | 1 | The last Conservative to date to serve as Lord Mayor of Manchester. |
| 87 | Kenneth Strath | 1985 | 1986 | 1 | First chair of the council |
| 88 | Kathleen Robinson | 1986 | 1987 | 1 | |
| 89 | Eileen Kelly | 1987 | 1988 | 1 | Last chair of the council |
| 90 | Patricia Conquest | 1988 | 1989 | 1 | |
| 91 | Yomi Mambu | 1989 | 1990 | 1 | |
| 92 | John Gilmore | 1990 | 1991 | 1 | |
| 93 | George Chadwick | 1991 | 1992 | 1 | |
| 94 | Bill Egerton | 1992 | 1993 | 1 | |
| 95 | William T Risby | 1993 | 1994 | 1 | |
| 96 | Sheila Smith | 1994 | 1995 | 1 | |
| 97 | Joyce Keller | 1995 | 1996 | 1 | |
| 98 | Derek Shaw | 1996 | 1997 | 1 | |
| 99 | Gerry Carroll | 1997 | 1998 | 1 | |
| 100 | Gordon Conquest | 1998 | 1999 | 1 | |
| 101 | Tony Burns | 1999 | 2000 | 1 | |

### 21st century

| No. | Lord mayor | Tenure began | Tenure ended | Notes |
| 102 | Hugh Barrett | 2000 | 2001 | |
| 103 | John Smith | 2001 | 2002 | |
| 104 | Roy Walters | 2002 | 2003 | |
| 105 | Audrey Jones | 2003 | 2004 | |
| 106 | Tom O'Callaghan | 2004 | 2005 | |
| 107 | Mohammed Afzal Khan | 2005 | 17 May 2006 | |
| 108 | James Ashley | 17 May 2006 | 12 August 2006 | Liberal Democrat, Died in office. |
| 109 | David Sandiford | 11 October 2006 | 16 May 2007 | |
| 110 | Glynn Evans | 16 May 2007 | 14 May 2008 | |
| 111 | Mavis Smitheman | 14 May 2008 | 13 May 2009 | |
| 112 | Alison Firth | 13 May 2009 | 19 May 2010 | |
| 113 | Mark Hackett | 19 May 2010 | 18 May 2011 | |
| 114 | Harry Lyons | 18 May 2011 | 19 May 2012 | |
| 115 | Elaine Boyes | 19 May 2012 | 19 May 2013 | |
| 116 | Naeem ul Hassan | 19 May 2013 | 17 May 2014 | |
| 117 | Susan Cooley | 17 May 2014 | 18 May 2015 | |
| 118 | Paul Murphy | 17 May 2015 | 17 May 2016 | |
| 119 | Carl Austin-Behan | 13 May 2016 | 17 May 2017 | |
| 120 | Eddy Newman | 17 May 2017 | 16 May 2018 | |
| 121 | June Hitchen | 16 May 2018 | 15 May 2019 | |
| 122 | Abid Latif Chohan | 15 May 2019 | 27 October 2020 | |
| 123 | Tommy Judge | 27 October 2020 | 18 May 2022 | |
| 124 | Donna Ludford | 18 May 2022 | 17 May 2023 | |
| 125 | Yasmine Dar | 17 May 2023 | 15 May 2024 | First Asian woman to hold the mayoralty |
| 126 | Paul Andrews | 15 May 2024 | incumbent | |