Greater London

Greater London is a county of south-eastern England which encompasses the greatest part of the London conurbation. It was created in 1965, incorporating the County of London (which by that date included just central and inner London, and not the city's twentieth century suburbs), most of Middlesex, and parts of Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, and Surrey. It is divided into 32 London boroughs as well as the ancient City of London. Greater London was administered between 1965 and 1986 by the Greater London Council (GLC). This was abolished for political rather than administrative convenience, and between 1986 and 2000 London was run by a collection of statutory and ad hoc bodies. In 2000 the Greater London Assembly and the post of elected executive Mayor of London were created to run the capital. The last leader of the GLC, Ken Livingstone, became the first, and so far only, Mayor of London (a post not to be confused with that of the ceremonial Lord Mayor of London).

Greater London has an area of 610 square miles (1579 sq km) and a population of 7.5 million (2006).