Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel, Israel has had two chief rabbis, one Ashkenazi and one Sephardi.
The office, however, is said by many to find its precedent in the religio-political authority figures of Jewish antiquity (e.g., kings, high priests, patriarchs, exilarchs and geonim).
[2] The position arose in Europe in the Middle Ages from governing authorities largely for secular administrative reasons such as collecting taxes and registering vital statistics, and for providing an intermediary between the government and the Jewish community, for example in the establishment of the Crown rabbi in several kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula, the rab de la corte in the Kingdom of Castile or the arrabi mor in the Kingdom of Portugal, likely influenced by the expectations of their Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican governments and neighbors.
Under current Israeli law, the post of Chief Rabbi exists in only four cities (Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Beersheba).
The Spanish and Portuguese community, however, consists of several synagogues, charities, a beth din and a kashruth authority.
Historically, the individual who fills this role is recognised as a senior rabbi of Anglo Jewry, being the leader of the oldest Jewish community in the country.
The official title of the holder of this office is now The Senior Rabbi of the S&P Sephardi Community of the United Kingdom.