This is a list of the mayors and lord mayors of Birmingham in the West Midlands of England.
Birmingham has had a mayor (and elected council) since 1838. The office was raised to the dignity of lord mayor when Queen Victoria issued letters patent on 3 June 1896.[ 1]
By modern convention, the Lord Mayor stands for a year, and is installed into office at the Annual Meeting of the City Council. Lord Mayors are non-political and non-executive during their term of office and act as chair of the council. As the First Citizen of Birmingham, the Lord Mayor represents not only the city but also the people of Birmingham. The honour of being Lord Mayor is now usually alternated between the Conservative , Labour and Liberal Democrat Groups. In normal circumstances the Lord Mayor becomes Deputy Lord Mayor for the following year.[ 2]
Mayors of Birmingham
1838–1895
No.
Mayor
Image
Tenure
Terms
Notes
1
William Scholefield
1838–1839
1
Second son of Joshua Scholefield , one of Birmingham's first MPs when the town was enfranchised in 1832.
2
Philip Henry Muntz
1839–1840
2
Councillor, alderman, mayor, justice of the peace and representative of Birmingham in Parliament.
3
Samuel Beale
1841
1
MP for Derby between 1857–65. Unitarian.
4
James James
1842
1
5
Thomas Weston
1843
1
Unitarian
6
Thomas Phillips
1844
1
7
Henry Smith
1845
1
8
Robert Martineau
1846
1
9
Charles Geach
1847
1
Founder of the Birmingham & Midland Bank
10
Samuel Thornton
1848
1
11
William Lucy
1849–1850
2
12
Henry Smith
1851
1
13
Henry Hawkes
1852
1
14
James Baldwin
1853
1
Paper manufacturer, owner of James Baldwin & Sons, est. 1829. Unitarian.
15
John Palmer
1854
1
Unitarian
16
T P T Hodgson
1855
1
17
Sir John Ratcliff
1856–1858
3
Also Town Commissioner, Low Baliff, Town Councillor, Alderman
18
Thomas Lloyd
1859
1
19
Arthur Ryland
1860
1
20
Henry Manton
1861
1
21
Charles Sturge
1862
1
Corn merchant, brother of Joseph Sturge
22
William Holliday
1863
1
23
Henry Wiggin
1864
1
24
Edwin Yates
1865
1
25
George Dixon
1866
1
Birmingham MP, was a major proponent of education for all children.
26
Thomas Avery
1866–1867
1
Elected on the resignation of Dixon
27
Henry Holland
1868
1
28
Thomas Prime
1869
1
Silver-plater. Northwood Street. Thomas Prime & Sons.
29
G Braithwaite Lloyd
1870
1
30
John Sadler
1871
1
31
Ambrose Biggs
1872
1
Tobacco product manufacturer and retailer. Declared bankrupt in 1883. Unitarian.
32
Joseph Chamberlain
1873–1876
3
Unitarian.
33
George Baker
1876
1
Elected on the resignation of Chamberlain in June 1876. Second master of Guild of St George .
34
William Kenrick
1877
1
35
Jesse Collings
1878
1
36
Richard Chamberlain
1879–1880
2
Brother of Joseph Chamberlain
37
Thomas Avery
1881
1
38
William White
1882
1
39
William Cook
1883
1
MP for Birmingham East in 1885/1886
40
Sir Thomas Martineau
1884–1886
3
41
Maurice Pollack
1887
1
42
Richard Cadbury Barrow
1888
1
43
Francis Corder Clayton
1889–1890
2
44
Edward Lawley Parker
1891–1892
2
45
George James Johnson
1893
1
46
Thomas Stratton Fallows
1894
1
47
James Smith
1895
2
Lord Mayors of Birmingham
19th century
20th century
21st century
No.
Lord Mayor
Image
Tenure
Terms
Notes
92
Jim Whorwood
2001–2002
1
93
Mahmood Hussain
2002–2003
1
94
John Alden
2003–2004
1
95
Mike Nangle
2004–2005
1
96
John Hood
2005–2006
1
97
Mike Sharpe
2006–2007
1
98
Randal Brew
2007–2008
1
99
Chauhdry Abdul Rashid
2008–2009
1
100
Michael Wilkes
2009–2010
1
101
Len Gregory
2010–2011
1
102
Anita Ward
2011–2012
1
103
John Lines
2012–2013
1
104
Mike Leddy
2013–2014
1
105
Shafique Shah
2014–2015
1
106
Ray Hassall
2015–2016
1
107
Carl Rice
2016–2017
1
108
Anne Underwood
2017–2018
1
109
Yvonne Mosquito
2018–2019
1
110
Mohammed Azim
2019–2021
2
Served an extra year due to the COVID-19 pandemic
111
Muhammad Afzal
2021–2022
1
Sworn in 25 May 2021.[ 7] He was chosen in 2020, but delayed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic[ 8]
112
Maureen Cornish
2022–2023
1
Mayor making 24 May 2022.[ 9]
113
Chaman Lal
2023–2024
1
The first Indian and Sikh descent mayor. Term started 23 May 2023[ 10]
114
Ken Wood
2024–2025
1
Sworn in on 21 May 2024.[ 11]
References
England
Wales
Scotland
Northern Ireland
Ireland (pre-1922)