Mayor of London Mayor of London The Mayor of London is the executive of the Greater London Authority. The current Mayor is Sadiq Khan, who took up office on 9 May 2016. The position was held by Ken Livingstone from the creation of the role on 4 May 2000, until he was defeated in May 2008 by Boris Johnson, who served two terms before being succeeded by Khan. The role, created in 2000 after the London devolution referendum in 1998, was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The Mayor is scrutinised by the London Assembly and, supported by their Mayoral
James Townsend (Lord Mayor of London) James Townsend (Lord Mayor of London) James Townsend (baptised 8 February 1737 – 1 July 1787) was an English Whig politician and Lord Mayor of London in 1772–73. It has been claimed that he was the first person of mixed race to hold such positions. James Townsend was baptised on 8 February 1737 at the church of St. Christopher-le-Stocks in London. He was the son of London merchant (and later MP) Chauncy Townsend and his wife Bridget Phipps. He attended Hertford College, Oxford in 1756. In politics James Townsend was closely linked from the 1760s with the Whig grandee William