Provost is a title held by the civic heads of

local governments Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It is similar in use to the title of

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

in other parts of the

English-speaking world The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English language, English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the ...

. In the 32 current unitary councils in Scotland, the title is often used for the convenor or civic head of a council, elected by its members to chair meetings and to represent the council. While convenor and depute convenor are the titles used in statute for this position, councils are generally permitted to choose their own titles for their civic heads. However, in the cities of

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, the title is specified in law as

Lord Provost A lord provost () is the convenor of the local authority, the civic head and the lord-lieutenant of one of the principal cities of Scotland. The office is similar to that of a lord mayor. Only the cities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Stirlin ...

, who also performs the role of

lord-lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility o ...

for the area. The title of provost is derived from the French term ''

prévôt A ''prévôt'' () was a governmental position of varying importance during the Ancien Régime in France. Typically referred to a civil officer, magistrate, head of cathedral or church, it is often anglicised as ''provost''. A unit of justice or c ...

'', which has origins in the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. In the past, it was associated with the principal magistrates of Scotland's

burgh A burgh ( ) is an Autonomy, autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots language, Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I of Scotland, King David I created ...

s, but it has since been used in a range of local authorities and

community council A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. ...

s, as well as former district councils.

Origins

The title of provost was introduced to Scotland from the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

term ''prévôt'' (), similarly to the title's military use in the

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

. It has its origins in the Latin term ' praepositus'', which as a civil title in the

dates back to the ''

praepositus sacri cubiculi The ''praepositus sacri cubiculi'' (Latin: "provost of the sacred bedchamber", in ) was one of the senior palace offices in the Late Roman Empire. Its holder was usually a eunuch, and acted as the grand chamberlain of the palace, wielding considera ...

'' (provost of the sacred bedchamber). A position of ''praepositus palatii'' was held in the

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...

court.

Local government

City of Edinburgh District Council Chamber - geograph

A provost was the chief magistrate or convenor of a

council, the equivalent of a

in other parts of the United Kingdom and in the Republic of Ireland. Before the enactment of the

Town Councils (Scotland) Act 1900 A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

various titles were used in different burghs, but the legislation standardised the name of the governing body as “the provost, magistrates, and councillors” of the burgh. After the reorganisation of

local government in Scotland Local government in Scotland comprises thirty-two local authorities, commonly referred to as ''councils''. Each council provides public services, including education, social care, waste management, libraries and planning. Councils receive th ...

in 1975, the title of

was reserved to

and

, while other district councils could choose the title to be used by the convenor; in 1994 twenty-two councils had provosts. Similar provisions were included in the

Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39) is an Act of parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the current Local government in Scotland, local government structure of 32 Unitary authority, unitary authori ...

, which established the 32 current unitary

council areas For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" (), which are all governed by single-tier authorities designated as "councils". They have the option under the Local Government (Gaelic Names) (Sc ...

in 1996. Members of each council elect one of their number to convene meetings of the council, and that person is generally designated convenor or provost.

Role

A provost, as civic head of a council, chairs council meetings, and represents the council on civic and ceremonial occasions. The Scottish Provosts Association is a membership organisation established in 2014 for provosts and civic heads of local authorities who may use different titles. A provost or convenor of a local authority is paid a salary greater than the basic pay received by a councillor. The salary of the convenor,

leader of the council Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

and senior councillors is set across Scotland, with variation between councils on a banding system. A council's place on one of the four salary bands is based on a number of factors, including the size of the council's budget.

Election

As a convenor of a council, the provost presides over council meetings. The first order of business for any local authority following an election of councillors is the appointment of a convenor and depute convenor from among their number. The

Scottish Conservatives The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party (), known as Scottish Tories, is part of the UK Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party active in Scotland. It currently holds 5 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Ki ...

and former Prime Minister

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

have proposed provosts directly elected by the public, with executive authority similar to that of

directly elected mayors in England and Wales In England, directly elected mayors are directly elected executive political leaders of some local government bodies, usually either local authorities (councils) or combined authorities. Mayors of the latter may be informally referred to a ...

Community councils

The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 provided for the creation of

s in Scotland to represent the interests of communities, particularly to their local authorities. A number of these community councils share boundaries similar to those of historic burgh councils and several have chosen to style their chairpersons as provosts. In 2019 the Royal Burgh of St Andrews Community Council reintroduced the title of Provost for its chairman when performing ceremonial and ambassadorial duties, in anticipation of the marking in 2020 of the 400th Anniversary of the granting of Royal Burgh status by King James VI & I in 1620.

Chains of office

Traditionally, provosts have chains of office, which are often valuable items of jewellery bearing an authority's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

In fiction

In ''

The Cadfael Chronicles ''The Cadfael Chronicles'' is a series of historical murder mysteries written by the English author Edith Pargeter (1913–1995) under the name Ellis Peters. Set in the 12th century in England during the Anarchy, the novels focus on a Welsh B ...

'' series of historical detective novels by

Ellis Peters Edith Mary Pargeter (28 September 1913 – 14 October 1995), also known by her pen name Ellis Peters, was an English author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translations of ...

, which take place in 12th-century

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, an important role is played by the town's Provost, a prominent

shoemaker Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or '' cordwainers'' (sometimes misidentified as cobblers, who repair shoes rather than make them). In the 18th cen ...

. The Provost plays an important role in

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Measure for Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604. It was published in the First Folio of 1623. The play centers on the despotic and puritan Angelo (Measure for ...

''. He is promoted at the end of the play.

References

Attribution

{{authority control Local government in Scotland Burghs Scots language Scots law general titles Region-specific legal occupations Heads of local government France–Scotland relations