South Lanarkshire (Scots: Sooth Lanrikshire; Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas) is one of 32 unitary authorities of Scotland.

Lanarkshire had existed as a shire from around the time of King David I, who ruled Scotland from 1124 to 1153.

[4] Local government was reformed in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, which replaced Scotland's counties, burghs and landward districts with a two-tier structure of upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts.

South Lanarkshire covered the whole area of three of the abolished Strathclyde districts, being Clydesdale, East Kilbride and Hamilton, plus an area including Rutherglen and Cambuslang from the City of Glasgow district.

[8][9] The large and varied geographical territory takes in rural and upland areas, market towns such as Lanark, Strathaven and Carluke, the urban burghs of Rutherglen, Cambuslang, and East Kilbride which was Scotland's first new town.