The Lord Lieutenant

Lord Lieutenant

The title Lord Lieutenant is given to the British monarch's personal representatives in the United Kingdom, usually in a county or similar circumscription, with varying tasks throughout history. Usually a retired local notable, senior military officer, peer or business person is given the post...

 of Caithness

Caithness

Caithness is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic local government area of Scotland. The name was used also for the earldom of Caithness and the Caithness constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Boundaries are not identical in all contexts, but the Caithness area is...

is the British monarch's

Monarchy of the United Kingdom

The monarchy of the United Kingdom is the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories. The present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has reigned since 6 February 1952. She and her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial and representational duties...

 personal representative in an area defined since 1975 as consisting of the local government district of Caithness, in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. This definition was renewed by the Lord-Lieutenants (Scotland) Order 1996. Previously, the area of the lieutenancy was the county of Caithness, which was abolished as a local government area by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973

The Local Government Act 1973 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that reformed local government in Scotland, on May 16, 1975....

. The district was created under the 1973 act as a district of the two-tier Highland region

Regions and districts of Scotland

The local government areas of Scotland were redefined by the Local Government Act 1973 and redefined again by the Local Government etc Act 1994....

 and abolished as a local government area under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1994, which turned the Highland region into a unitary council area.

List of Lord-Lieutenants of Caithness

• James Sinclair, 12th Earl of Caithness 17 March 1794 – 16 July 1823
• Alexander Campbell Sinclair, 13th Earl of Caithness 19 August 1823 – 24 December 1855
• James Sinclair, 14th Earl of Caithness
  James Sinclair, 14th Earl of Caithness
  James Sinclair, 14th Earl of Caithness FRS , styled Lord Berriedale from 1823 to 1855, was a Scottish Liberal politician, scientist and inventor....
  
   29 February 1856 – 28 March 1881
• George Philips Alexander Sinclair, 15th Earl of Caithness 7 May 1881 – 28 May 1889
• William Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portland
  William Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portland
  William John Arthur Charles James Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portland KG, GCVO, PC, TD, DL , known as William Cavendish-Bentinck until 1879, was a British landowner, courtier and Conservative politician...
  
   26 July 1889 – 1919
• Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso 4 November 1919 – 1964
• Brigadier Sir George David Keith Murray 12 August 1964 – 1965
• John Sinclair
  John Sinclair
  John Sinclair may refer to:* John Sinclair , Ordinary Lord and later Lord President in the Court of Session* Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet , politician and writer on agriculture and finance...
  
   10 December 1965 – 1973
• Robin Macdonald Sinclair, 2nd Viscount Thurso 1 May 1973 – 29 April 1995
• Major Graham Dunnett 16 February 1996 – 2004
• Margaret Annie Geddes Dunnett 12 May 2004 – present