The lieutenancy areas of Scotland are the areas used for the ceremonial lord-lieutenants, the monarch's representatives, in Scotland. The lord-lieutenants' titles chosen by the monarch and his legal advisers are mainly based on placenames of the traditional counties of Scotland. In 1794, permanent lieutenancies were established by Royal Warrant. By the Militia Act 1797 (37 Geo.3, C.103), the lieutenants appointed "for the Counties, Stewartries, Cities, and Places" were given powers to raise and command County Militia Units.
While in their lieutenancies, lord lieutenants are among the few individuals in Scotland officially permitted to fly a banner of the Royal Arms of Scotland, the "Lion Rampant" as it is more commonly known.
Lieutenancy areas are different from the current local government council areas and their committee areas. They also differ from other subdivisions of Scotland including sheriffdoms and former regions and districts.
The Lord Provosts of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, and Glasgow also act Latin: [[ex officio]] as lord-lieutenants. This is a unique right in the United Kingdom: all other lord-lieutenants are appointed by the monarch, rather than being elected politicians.
Each Lord-Lieutenant of a county holding office immediately prior to the local government reorganisation of Scotland on 16 May 1975 was appointed to an area (usually the traditional county area or something very similar to it) within the regions and districts which were established on that date. The lieutenancy areas were not given names in the 1975 order transferring the lieutenancies.[1] When local government was reorganised again on 1 April 1996, the lieutenancy areas remained essentially the same, with minor border adjustments in some based on new council area boundaries. The order transferring the lieutenancies in 1996 gave each lieutenancy a name, usually taken from the names of the pre-1975 counties which roughly correspond to the lieutenancy areas. Some lieutenancy names differ though, with the pre-1975 county of Peeblesshire now corresponding to a lieutenancy of Tweeddale.[2]
| Pre-1975 lieutenancy (County) | Current Lieutenancy area | Former region | Definition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeenshire | Aberdeenshire | Grampian | The County of Aberdeen as existing before 16 May 1975, except that part in the City of Aberdeen | |
| Angus | Angus | Tayside | District of Angus | |
| Argyll | Argyll and Bute | Strathclyde | District of Argyll and Bute | |
| Ayr | Ayrshire and Arran | Strathclyde | Districts of Cunninghame, Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Kyle and Carrick and Cumnock and Doon Valley | |
| Banffshire | Banffshire | Grampian | The county of Banffshire as existing before 16 May 1975 | |
| Berwick | Berwickshire | Borders | District of Berwickshire | |
| Caithness | Caithness | Highland | District of Caithness | |
| Clackmannan | Clackmannanshire | Central | District of Clackmannan | |
| Dumfries | Dumfries | Dumfries and Galloway | Districts of Nithsdale and Annandale and Eskdale | |
| Dunbarton | Dunbartonshire | Strathclyde | Districts of Dumbarton, Clydebank, Bearsden and Milngavie, Strathkelvin and Cumbernauld and Kilsyth | |
| East Lothian | East Lothian | Lothian | District of East Lothian | |
| Fife | Fife | Fife | Entire region | |
| Inverness | Inverness | Highland | Districts of Lochaber, Inverness and Badenoch and Strathspey | |
| Kincardineshire | Kincardineshire | Grampian | The county of Kincardineshireas existing before 16 May 1975, except that part in the City of Aberdeen | |
| Kinross (held jointly with Perth) | Perth and Kinross | Tayside | District of Perth and Kinross | |
| Stewartry of Kirkcudbright | Stewartry of Kirkcudbright | Dumfries and Galloway | District of Stewartry | |
| Lanark | Lanarkshire | Strathclyde | Districts of Monklands, Motherwell, Hamilton, East Kilbride and Lanark | |
| Midlothian | Midlothian | Lothian | District of Midlothian | |
| Moray or Elginshire | Moray or Morayshire | Grampian | The county of Morayshire as existing before 16 May 1975 | |
| Nairn | Nairn | Highland | District of Nairn | |
| Orkney | Orkney | Orkney Islands Area | Entire area | |
| Peebles | Tweeddale | Borders | District of Tweeddale | |
| Perth (held jointly with Kinross) | Perth and Kinross | Tayside | District of Perth and Kinross | |
| Renfrew | Renfrewshire | Strathclyde | Districts of Eastwood, Renfrew and Inverclyde | |
| Ross and Cromarty | Ross and Cromarty | Highland | Districts of Ross and Cromarty and Skye and Lochalsh | |
| Roxburgh (held jointly with Selkirk) | Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale | Borders | District of Roxburgh | |
| Selkirk (held jointly with Roxburgh) | Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale | Borders | District of Ettrick and Lauderdale | |
| Stirling | Stirling and Falkirk | Central | Districts of Stirling and Falkirk | |
| Sutherland | Sutherland | Highland | District of Sutherland | |
| West Lothian | West Lothian | Lothian | District of West Lothian | |
| – | Western Isles | Western Isles Islands Area | Entire area | |
| Wigtown | Wigtown | Dumfries and Galloway | District of Wigtown | |
| Zetland | Shetland | Shetland Islands Area | Entire area |