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Chief rabbinate elections have historically been characterised more by autocracy than democracy.
Solomon Hirschell was the first recognised chief rabbi in Anglo-Jewry but he developed the post out of his ministry of London's Great Synagogue between 1802 and 1842. His successor, Nathan Marcus Adler, was the first to be elected to the post. As this election took place in 1845, before the formation of the United Synagogue, officially formed in 1870, this appointment was free of the superintendence that the honorary officers of the US would subsequently assume.
In 1890 no formal election was required to appoint Adler's successor. His son, Hermann Adler, who had been functioning as effective Chief Rabbi since 1879 due to his father's poor health, received unanimous support for his elevation to the post in his own right. Nonetheless, this appointment highlighted the disinclination to support any sort of democracy in the election process of chief rabbis. Although the recently formed Federation was invited to participate in the 1890 appointment - and accept chief rabbinical authority - their representatives were not offered any sort of influence over proceedings. A blueprint of US dominance was established over the chief rabbinate at this juncture.
At the time of its formation, the London-based US had accepted responsibility for the chief rabbinate as part of its mandate. Assuming the primary financial burden for the post, a presumption of broader control followed. By 1913, when Joseph Herman Hertz was appointed as successor to the Adlerian dynasty, the extent of US control over the process was demonstrated by the allocation of just seven votes to all Manchester Jewry while Hampstead Synagogue was given 35.
