Member of a municipal assembly or council
An
alderman
is a member of a
municipal
assembly or council in many
jurisdictions
founded upon
English law
with similar officials existing in the
Netherlands
(wethouder) and
Belgium
(schepen). The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a
borough
or
county council
, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by
popular vote
, or a council member elected by voters.
[1]
Etymology
[
edit
]
The title is derived from the
Old English
title of
ealdorman
, which literally means "elder person", and which was used by the chief nobles presiding over
shires
. Similar titles exist in other Germanic languages, such as
alderman
in
Swedish
,
oldermann
in
Norwegian
,
radmand
in
Danish
and
Low German
,
Olderman
in
West Frisian
,
ouderman
in
Dutch
, and
Altermann
in
German
.
Finnish
also has
oltermanni
, which was borrowed from Swedish. All of these words mean "elder person" or "wise man".
Usage by country
[
edit
]
Australia
[
edit
]
Many local government bodies used the term "alderman" in Australia. As in the way local councils have been modernised in the United Kingdom and
Ireland
, the term alderman has been discontinued in a number of places. For example, in the state of
Queensland
before 1994, rural "shires" elected "councillors" and a "chairman", while "cities" elected a "mayor" and "aldermen". Since 1994, all local and regional government areas in Queensland elect a "mayor" and "councillors". (Australian capital cities usually have a
Lord Mayor
). An example of the use of the term alderman is evident in the City of
Adelaide
.
[2]
Aldermen were elected from the electors in all the
wards
.
[3]
Canada
[
edit
]
Historically, in
Canada
, the term "alderman" was used for those persons elected to a municipal council to represent the wards. As women were increasingly elected to municipal office, the term "
councillor
" slowly replaced "alderman", although there was some use of the term "alderperson". Today, the title of "alderman" is rarely used except in some cities in
Alberta
and
Ontario
, as well as some smaller municipalities elsewhere in the country, that retain the title for historical reasons.
Ireland
[
edit
]
The title "alderman" was abolished for
local authorities in the Republic of Ireland
by the
Local Government Act 2001
, with effect from the
2004 local elections
.
[4]
Early usage of the term mirrored
that of England and Wales
. Local elections since the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1919 have used the
single transferable vote
in multiple-member electoral areas.
[5]
[6]
In each electoral area of a
borough or county borough
, the first several candidates elected were styled "alderman" and the rest "councillor".
[7]
Someone co-opted to fill a seat vacated by an alderman would be styled "councillor".
[8]
Netherlands
[
edit
]
In the Netherlands, an alderman (Dutch:
wethouder
) is part of the
municipal executive
and not of the
municipal council
, which controls the aldermen's actions in office. The alderman is comparable to the office of
minister
at the national level. However, the alderman can not propose bills to the council. The alderman can be forced to resign by a
vote of no confidence
by the council.
South Africa
[
edit
]
In South Africa, the term alderman refers to senior members of
municipal councils
.
[9]
They are distinguished from ordinary councillors for their "long and distinguished service as a councillor".
[10]
The title may be awarded on the basis of a long term of service (commonly 20 years), or a combination of term of service along with leadership positions held within the council.
[11]
In some councils the title is automatically conferred on the
mayor
regardless of their term of service.
United Kingdom
[
edit
]
England, Northern Ireland and Wales
[
edit
]
Although the term originated in England, it had no single definition there until the 19th century, as each municipal corporation had its own constitution. It was used in England,
Wales
and
Ireland
/
Northern Ireland
(all of Ireland being part of the United Kingdom from January 1801 until December 1922), but was not used in
Scotland
. Under the
Municipal Reform Act 1835
,
municipal borough
corporations consisted of
councillors
and aldermen. Aldermen would be elected not by the electorate, but by the council (including the outgoing aldermen), for a term of six years, which allowed a party that narrowly lost an election to retain control by choosing aldermen. This was changed by the Municipal Corporations Amendment Act 1910, so that outgoing aldermen were no longer allowed to vote.
[12]
[13]
County councils
, created in Great Britain in 1889 and in Ireland in 1899, also elected aldermen, but
rural district
and
urban district councils
did not. The
Local Government Act 1972
finally abolished Aldermen with voting rights, with effect from 1974, except in the
Greater London Council
and the
London borough councils
, where they remained a possibility until 1978.
[14]
Honorary aldermen
[
edit
]
Councils in England, Wales, and
Northern Ireland
still have the power to create honorary aldermen, as a reward for their services as a councillor, but must do so at a special meeting, and in each case the granting of the title needs to be approved by two-thirds of those attending.
[15]
This power is little used in England and Wales, but is used more often in Northern Ireland, where councils may also designate up to a quarter of their elected councillors as aldermen.
City of London
[
edit
]
In the
City of London
, but not elsewhere in
London
, aldermen are still elected for each of the
wards of the City
, by the regular electorate, and until 2004 could hold office for life, but now have a term of not more than six years. They form the
Court of Aldermen
. To be a candidate to be
Lord Mayor of the City of London
, it is necessary to be an alderman and to have been a
sheriff of the City of London
.
The title "Alderman" is used for both men and women and may be prefixed to a person's name (e.g., Alderman John Smith, Alderman Smith, or for women; Alderman Mrs (or Miss) Smith).
Scotland
[
edit
]
In
Scotland
, the office of "
baillie
" bore some similarities to that of Alderman in England and Wales.
United States
[
edit
]
Depending on the jurisdiction, an alderman could have been part of the legislative or judicial local government.
A "board of aldermen" is the governing executive or legislative body of many cities and towns in the United States. Boards of aldermen are used in many rural areas of the United States as opposed to a larger
city council
or
city commission
; its members are typically called "alderman". The term is sometimes used instead of
city council
, but it can also refer to an executive board independent of the council, or to what is essentially an upper house of a
bicameral legislature
(as it was in
New York City
until the 20th century).
In
Illinois
, the Illinois Municipal Code allows for the formation and existence of an aldermanic-city form of municipal government. As an example, in
Chicago
, the
Chicago City Council
is composed of fifty aldermen
[16]
(not councilors). As of 2021, a Chicago alderman is legally referred to by the
State of Illinois
as an alderperson.
[17]
[18]
[19]
Some cities such as,
Ithaca, New York
identify aldermen as 'alderpersons'. Others, including
New Haven, Connecticut
, use the term "alders".
[20]
Historically the term could also refer to local municipal judges in small legal proceedings (as in
Pennsylvania
[21]
and
Delaware
). Pennsylvania's aldermen were phased out in the early 20th century.
See also
[
edit
]
Look up
alderman
in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Alderman"
.
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2010
. 2010.
Archived
from the original on 21 February 2010
. Retrieved
11 January
2010
.
- ^
"Adelaide ? City Council, Town Hall and Allied Matters"
. Slsa.sa.gov.au. Archived from
the original
on 10 March 2011
. Retrieved
2 March
2011
.
- ^
"Microsoft Word - 7540 ACC Rep Review Stage 1 Consultants Report FINAL - Volume 2.doc"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 23 May 2011
. Retrieved
2 March
2011
.
- ^
O'Sullivan, Terry (2003).
"Local Areas and Structures"
. In Callanan, Mark; Keogan, Justin F. (eds.).
Local Government in Ireland: Inside Out
. Institute of Public Administration. p. 49.
ISBN
9781902448930
.
- ^
Deignan, Patrick (May?June 2009).
"PR & the Sligo borough election of 1919"
.
History Ireland
.
17
(3)
. Retrieved
18 March
2015
.
- ^
"Local Elections in Ireland"
. Ireland: Citizens Information Board. 23 January 2014. Archived from
the original
on 26 January 2018
. Retrieved
8 June
2017
.
The electoral system is based on proportional representation with single transferable vote.
- ^
Originally
"Local Government (Ireland) Act 1919"
.
Wikisource
. 3 June 1919. Section 4 (2)
. Retrieved
8 June
2017
.
- ^
"Local Government Act, 1941, Section 42"
.
Irish Statute Book
. Retrieved
8 June
2017
.
- ^
"Policy: Conferment of Aldermanship on Councillors of the West Coast District Municipality. West Coast District Municipality"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 27 October 2021
. Retrieved
4 June
2017
.
- ^
Policy Relating to the Conferment of Civic Honours
,
Sedibeng District Municipality
.
- ^
"Councillor made alderman | IOL"
. Retrieved
4 June
2017
.
- ^
kclancy.
"Stoke-on-Trent memories of politician Terry Crowe"
. Thisisstaffordshire.co.uk
. Retrieved
2 March
2011
.
- ^
"Aldermen in Municipal Boroughs Bill"
.
Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
. 20 July 1910
. Retrieved
2 March
2011
.
- ^
Minors, Michael; Grenham, Dennis (March 2007).
London Borough Council Elections 4 May 2006
.
Greater London Authority
.
ISBN
9781852612320
. Archived from
the original
on 30 September 2015
. Retrieved
29 September
2015
.
- ^
Local Government Act 1972, Part XII, Section 249 (1)
- ^
"About City Government & the Chicago City Council"
. 21 September 2015. Archived from
the original
on 9 July 2021
. Retrieved
7 July
2021
.
- ^
"Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for SB0825"
.
www.ilga.gov
. Retrieved
10 December
2023
.
- ^
"Goodbye, Alderman. Hello, Alderperson"
.
- ^
"State Adopts 'Alderperson' To Describe Chicago City Council Members ? But Some Alderpeople Aren't Thrilled"
. 18 June 2021.
- ^
"Board of Alders"
.
- ^
Potter, Chris.
"Have Pittsburgh city councilors ever been called "aldermen"? I used to see "alderman" signs on an old building"
. Pittsburghcitypaper.ws. Archived from
the original
on 16 May 2011
. Retrieved
2 March
2011
.