John Ross Letford

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(born 5 March 1935) is a Scottish politician who served as the

Lord Provost of Dundee The Lord Provost of Dundee is the chair and civic head of the City of Dundee local authority in Scotland. They are elected by the city council and serve not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead and Lord Lieutenant for the city. T ...

, as well as a councillor in his local ward of

Lochee Lochee () is an area in the west of Dundee, Scotland. Until the 19th century, it was a separate town, but was eventually surrounded by the expanding Dundee. It is notable for being home to Camperdown Works, which was the largest jute production ...

, until May 2012. His eleven years as Lord Provost made him the longest serving civic head in the United Kingdom since the nineteenth century. He currently resides in the

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

area of the city. Born in Aberdeen, he moved to Dundee in 1943 and later served an apprenticeship in the

Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company The Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Limited was a major Scottish shipbuilding company based in Dundee, Scotland that traded for more than a century and built more than 500 ships. History W.B. Thompson CBE (1837 - 1923) founded the ...

shipyard as a marine coppersmith. He also served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

from 1956 until 1958. In 1989 he began working as a training manager with Community Industry Rathbone, where he remained for 15 years before becoming a councillor in the

Tayside Regional Council Tayside ( gd, Taobh Tatha) was one of the nine regions used for local government in Scotland from 15 May 1975 to 31 March 1996. The region was named for the River Tay. It was created by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, following rec ...

and Labour Party Chairman for Camperdown. He has served on several committees with matters concerning sports, theatre, education, local services and disabled associations and has been involved with

Dundee City Council Dundee City Council is the local government authority for the City of Dundee. It was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. History Dundee City became a single-tier council in 1996, under the Local Government e ...

since 1994 where before being elected as Lord Provost in June 2001, in succession to Helen Wright, who was voted out of office because of a dispute over her expenses. He was elected by a vote of 15–11 over

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...

candidate David Bowes, winning backing from three

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

councillors. Previously he had held the post of Deputy Lord Provost. Letford was re-elected as Lord Provost after the

2007 Scottish local elections The 2007 Scottish local elections were held on 3 May 2007, the same day as Scottish Parliament elections and local elections in parts of England. All 32 Scottish councils had all their seats up for election – all Scottish councils are unitary ...

and again after the

. On 24 March 2009, Letford resigned from the Labour Group on Dundee City Council, and became an independent councillor. Letford was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to local government. He launched his autobiography in 2016.

References

1935 births Living people Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Aberdeen Scottish Labour councillors Lord Provosts of Dundee {{Scotland-provost-stub