What is "deputy lieutenant"

Lieutenant \Lieu*ten"ant\ (l[-u]*t[e^]n"ant), n. [F., fr. lieu place + tenant holding, p. pr. of tenir to hold, L. tenere. See Lieu, and Tenant, and cf. Locum tenens.]

1. An officer who supplies the place of a superior in his absence; a representative of, or substitute for, another in the performance of any duty.

   The lawful magistrate, who is the vicegerent or lieutenant of God.
   --Abp. Bramhall.

2. 1. A commissioned officer in the army, next below a captain.

   2. A commissioned officer in the British navy, in rank next below a commander.

   3. A commissioned officer in the United States navy, in rank next below a lieutenant commander. Note: Lieutenant is often used, either adjectively or in hyphened compounds, to denote an officer, in rank next below another, especially when the duties of the higher officer may devolve upon the lower one; as, lieutenant general, or lieutenant-general; lieutenant colonel, or lieutenant-colonel; lieutenant governor, etc. Deputy lieutenant, the title of any one of the deputies or assistants of the lord lieutenant of a county. [Eng.] Lieutenant colonel, an army officer next in rank above major, and below colonel. Lieutenant commander, an officer in the United States navy, in rank next below a commander and next above a lieutenant. Lieutenant general. See in Vocabulary. Lieutenant governor.

      1. An officer of a State, being next in rank to the governor, and in case of the death or resignation of the latter, himself acting as governor. [U. S.]

      2. A deputy governor acting as the chief civil officer of one of several colonies under a governor general.

In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is a Crown appointment and one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area: an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county.

In formal style, the postnominal letters DL may be added: e.g. John Brown, CBE, DL. Should the subject have numerous more important honorifics these postnoms may be omitted, although this is rare.

Deputy Lieutenants are nominated by the Lord Lieutenant, to assist with any duties as may be required: see the Lieutenancies Act 1997; Deputy Lieutenants receive their commission of appointment via the appropriate HM Government Minister by command of The Queen. In England and Wales, since November 2001, the government minister responsible for most appointments is the Lord Chancellor, with exceptions such as the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. In Scotland, since July 1999 it has been the Scottish Ministers.

Decades ago, the number of Deputy Lieutenants for each county could be as few as three. Today, however, there may be well over a dozen that are appointed as the number of DLs today correlates with the population of each respective county. DLs tend to be people who either have served the local community, or have a history of public service in other fields.

DLs represent the Lord Lieutenant in his or her absence, including at local ceremonies and official events, from opening exhibitions to inductions of vicars (as requested by the Church of England). They must live within their ceremonial county, or within seven miles (11 km) of its boundary. Their appointments do not terminate with any change of Lord Lieutenant, but they are legally required to retire at age of 75.

One of the serving Deputy Lieutenants is appointed to be Vice-Lieutenant, who in most circumstances will stand in for the Lord Lieutenant when he or she cannot be present. The appointment as Vice-Lieutenant does, however, expire on the retirement of the Lord Lieutenant who made the choice. Generally, the Vice-Lieutenant would then revert to DL.

Unlike the office of Lord Lieutenant, which is an appointment in the gift of the Sovereign, the position of Deputy Lieutenant is an appointment of the Sovereign's appointee, namely the Government or the Crown, and therefore not strictly speaking a direct appointment of the Sovereign.