William St John Somerville McAlester of Loup and Kennox was recognized as such by the Lord Lyon King of Arms, in 1991. The Gaelic designation of the chiefs of Clan MacAlister is Mac Iain Duibh in reference to Eoin Dubh, from whom the MacAlisters of Loup claim to descend.

The Hereditary Chief of Clan MacAlister is William St. John Somerville MacAlester of Loup and Kennox, Chief of the Clan and name MacAlister.

William grew up in an Army family and attended boarding school in the UK. His father was Colonel Charles Godfrey Somerville McAlester MC, OBE. He was the youngest Brigade Commander of WWII; he was also named as a war criminal by the GESTARPO as he was in command of the resistance in Crete.

William grew up on the island of Malta GC. He was awarded his Green Beret in the Royal Marines in 1978 and got his airborne wings shortly after, deployed to many parts of the world and fought in the Falklands war April 2 to 14 June 1982! After serving 17 years in the Royal Marines, he was employed in the Yacht construction industry in the UK for several years. He left that occupation to start his own business specializing in delivering aviation parts across the United Kingdom, Europe and the Gulf States in the Middle East.

Chief William currently resides in the family home in Christchurch, Dorset, England. He is the father of two adult children, Keely and Ranald. Ranald recently became a father, making Chief William a grandfather, the babies' name is Lachlan.

Keely McAlester

Born in 1992, she attended the local school and College at Brockenhurst. She then went to Middlesex University for a year. She got employment in the hospitality industry locally, before going traveling to the Far East, she has been to Japan, The Philippians and Sri Lanka, she is currently working in the PR field. She is planning to go to Viet Nam to teach later this year.

Ranald McAlester

Born in 1993, he attended the local schools like his sister and followed her to the same College. He then joined the Royal Navy and served in the Royal Fleet Air arm, he did trips to the USA on the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabth, his land bases were in the West of England. He passed out of training with the Captains Prize as the best recruit in the batch. He was discharged from the Royal Navy because of health issues and is now working for a local aircraft company. He has set up his own home locally and welcomed his son to the world at the beginning of April 2025, his name is Lachlan.