| Post: | Lord Lieutenant |
| Body: | Renfrewshire |
| Insigniasize: | 200px |
| Insigniacaption: | Flag of a Lord Lieutenant in Scotland |
| Incumbent: | Colonel Peter McCarthy |
| Incumbentsince: | 28 March 2019 |
| Appointer: | Queen Elizabeth II |
| Termlength: | Until the incumbent reaches the age of 75. |
| Formation: | 1794 |
| Inaugural: | William McDowall |
| Deputy: | Hugh McKechnie Currie DL |
| Website: | http://www.renfrewshirelieutenancy.org.uk |
The Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire is the representative of the British Crown covering a lieutenancy area of the county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland.
The Lord Lieutenant deals with many of the ceremonial functions associated with representing the Sovereign in his area, co-ordinates Royal visits to the county, presents awards, maintains close links with HM Armed Forces and liaises with the Queen's private office on county matters.[1]
The current Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire is, since March 2019, is Colonel Peter McCarthy. He is assisted by up to 26 Deputy Lieutenants, amongst them the Vice Lord Lieutenant, held by Hugh McKechnie Currie.[2] The Clerk to the Lieutenancy is Mrs Linda Hutchison and is based at the headquarters of East Renfrewshire Council in Giffnock.[3]
The Renfrewshire lieutenancy was formed in 1794 when permanent lieutenancies were appointed by Royal Warrant to all the counties of Scotland. The Lord-Lieutenants (Scotland) Order 1996 defined the area of the Renfrewshire lieutenancy as covering the local government districts of Renfrew, Eastwood and Inverclyde - covering the area of the county of Renfrewshire. Later that year, these districts were altered into unitary council areas named Renfrewshire, Inverclyde and East Renfrewshire.
On 13 March 2019, the Queen announced that Colonel Peter McCarthy would take the position of Lord Lieutenant following the retirement of Guy Clark.[4]
McCarthy was born in 1953 and after attending Welbeck College served as an army officer in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. In 2004, he became an operations director for the British Red Cross. He was previously Vice Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire.[5]
A deputy lieutenant of Renfrewshire is commissioned by the Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire. Deputy lieutenants support the work of the lord-lieutenant. There can be several deputy lieutenants at any time, depending on the population of the county. Their appointment does not terminate with the changing of the lord-lieutenant, but they usually retire at age 75.