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mayor — news, coverage & facts — IJR

United Kingdom

In modern England and Wales, the position of mayor descends from the feudal lord's bailiff or reeve (see borough). The chief magistrate of London bore the title of portreeve for considerably more than a century after the Norman Conquest. This official was elected by popular choice, a privilege secured from King John. By the beginning of the 12th century, the title of portreeve gave way to that of mayor as the designation of the chief officer of London, followed around 1190 by that of Winchester. Other boroughs adopted the title later.

In the 19th century, the Municipal Corporations Act 1882, Section 15, regulated the election of mayors. The mayor was to be a fit person elected annually on 9 November by the council of the borough from among the aldermen or councilors or persons qualified to be such. His term of office was one year, but he was eligible for re-election. He might appoint a deputy to act during illness or absence, and such deputy must be either an alderman or councilor. A mayor who was absent from the borough for more than two months became disqualified and had to vacate his office. A mayor was ex officio a justice of the peace for the borough during his year of office and the following year. He received such remuneration as the council thought reasonable. These provisions have now been repealed.

In medieval Wales, the Laws of Hywel Dda codified the mayor (Latin: maior; Welsh: maer) as a position at the royal courts charged with administering the serfs of the king's lands. To maintain its dependence on and loyalty to the Crown, the position was forbidden to the leaders of the clan groups. A separate mayor, known as the "cow dung mayor" (maer biswail), was charged with overseeing the royal cattle. There were similar offices at the Scottish and Irish courts.

The office of mayor in most modern English and Welsh boroughs and towns did not in the 20th century entail any important administrative duties and was generally regarded as an honor conferred for local distinction, long service on the council, or for past services. The mayor was expected to devote much of their time to civic, ceremonial, and representational functions, and to preside over meetings for the advancement of the public welfare. The administrative duties of mayors were to act as returning officer at parliamentary elections and to chair the meetings of the council.

The mayor of a town council is officially known as "town mayor" (although in popular parlance, the word town is often dropped). The person is known as "mayor" regardless of gender; the wife of a male mayor is traditionally known as the "mayoress". Since the 1974 local government reforms, mayors are also appointed to English local government districts which have borough status. This results in mayors of districts which include towns which also have separate mayors. In districts which do not have borough status, the role of civic leader is taken by the chairman of the council, who undertakes exactly the same functions as a mayor of a district with borough status.

Many major cities in the United Kingdom and throughout the Commonwealth have a lord mayor, a special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. Although the position is often ceremonial, with executive responsibilities under the control of an elected mayor, lord mayors in several Commonwealth cities including Belfast, Cardiff, Brisbane, and Dublin hold both ceremonial and executive duties. Some lord mayors, including the lord mayor of Sydney (Australia), are elected.

In Scotland the post holders are known as convenors, provosts, or lord provosts depending on the local authority.

Since reforms introduced in 2000, a number of English local authorities have directly elected mayors who combine the "civic" mayor role with that of leader of the council and have greater powers than either. Areas which now have directly elected mayors include cities, local government districts which cover several towns and rural areas.

In 2014 combined authority areas where created which, similarly to the Greater London Authority, include two or more local authority districts. The mayors (also known as metro mayors or regional mayors) who lead these authority areas have much more expansive devolved governmental powers compared to their local council counterparts who do not, and have responsibility for larger geographical areas that can include multiple cities and towns. These regional mayors have a much larger political significance and are seen as the chief representative for their region, they sit on the Mayoral Council for England and the Council of the Nations and Regions, where they sit alongside leaders from the UK government and devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Continental Europe

The original Frankish mayors or majordomos were – like the Welsh meiri – lords commanding the king's lands around the Merovingian courts in Austrasia, Burgundy, and Neustria. The mayorship of Paris eventually became hereditary in the Pippinids, who later established the Carolingian dynasty.

In modern France, since the Revolution, a mayor (maire) and a number of mayoral adjuncts (adjoints au maire) are selected by the municipal council from among their number. Most of the administrative work is left in their hands, with the full council meeting comparatively infrequently. The model was copied throughout Europe in Britain's mayors, Italy's sindacos, most of the German states' burgomasters, and Portugal's presidents of the municipal chambers.

In medieval Italy, the city-states who did not consider themselves independent principalities or dukedoms – particularly those of the Imperial Ghibelline faction – were led by podestàs.

The Greek equivalent of a mayor is the demarch (Greek: δήμαρχος, lit. 'archon of the deme').

In Denmark all municipalities are led by a political official called borgmester, 'mayor'. The mayor of Copenhagen is however called overborgmester 'lord mayor'. In that city other mayors, borgmestre (plural), are subordinate to the lord mayor with different undertakings, like ministers to a prime minister. In other municipalities in Denmark there is only a single mayor.

In Norway and Sweden the mayoral title borgermester/borgmästare has now been abolished. Norway abolished it in 1937 as a title of the non-political top manager of (city) municipalities and replaced it with the title rådmann ('alderman' or 'magistrate'), which is still in use when referring to the top managers of the municipalities of Norway. The top elected official of the municipalities of Norway, on the other hand, has the title ordfører, which actually means 'word-bearer', i.e. 'chairperson' or 'president', an equivalent to the Swedish word ordförande.

In Sweden borgmästare was a title of the senior judge of the courts of the cities, courts which were called rådhusrätt, literally 'town hall court', somewhat of an equivalent to an English magistrates' court. These courts were abolished in 1971. Until 1965, these mayor judges on historical grounds also performed some administrative functions in the board of magistrates, in Swedish known collectively as magistrat. Until 1965 there were also municipal mayors (kommunalborgmästare), who had these non-political administrative roles in smaller cities without a magistrates' court or magistrat. This office was an invention of the 20th century as the smaller cities in Sweden during the first half of the 20th century subsequently lost their own courts and magistrates.

In the 16th century in Sweden, king Gustav Vasa considerably centralised government and appointed the mayors directly. In 1693 king Charles XI accepted a compromise after repeated petitions from the Estate of the Burgesses over decades against the royal mayor appointments. The compromise was that the burgesses in a city could normally nominate a mayor under the supervision of the local governor. The nominee was then to be presented to and appointed by the king, but the king could appoint mayors directly in exceptional cases. This was codified in the Instrument of Government of 1720 and on 8 July the same year Riksrådet ("the Council of the Realm") decided, after a petition from the said Estate, that only the city could present nominees, not the king or anyone else. Thus the supervision of the local governor and directly appointed mayors by the king ceased after 1720 (the so-called Age of Liberty). On 16 October 1723, it was decided after a petition that the city should present three nominees, of whom the king (or the Council of the Realm) appointed one. This was kept as a rule from then on in all later regulations and was also kept as a tradition in the 1809 Instrument of Government (§ 31) until 1965.

In Finland, there are two mayors, in Tampere and Pirkkala. Usually in Finland the highest executive official is not democratically elected, but is appointed to a public office by the city council, and is called simply kaupunginjohtaja 'city manager' or kunnanjohtaja 'municipal manager', depending on whether the municipality defines itself as a city. The term pormestari 'mayor', from Swedish borgmästare confusingly on historical grounds has referred to the highest official in the registry office and in the city courts (abolished in 1993) as in Sweden, not the city manager. In addition, pormestari is also an honorary title, which may be given for distinguished service in the post of the city manager. The city manager of Helsinki is called ylipormestari, which translates to 'chief mayor', for historical reasons. Furthermore, the term city manager may be seen translated as mayor.

The office of the alcalde evolved during the Reconquista as new lands were settled by the expanding kingdoms of León and Castile. As fortified settlements in the area between the Douro and Tagus rivers became true urban centers, they gained, from their feudal lords or the kings of Leon and Castile, the right to have councils. Among the rights that these councils had was to elect a municipal judge (iudex in Latin and juez in Spanish). These judges were assisted in their duties by various assistant judges, called alcaldes, whose number depended on the number of parishes the town had. The title alcalde was borrowed from the Arabic al-qaḍi (قاضي), meaning 'the judge'.

The word alcalde originally was used for simple judges, as in Andalusian Arabic. Only later was it applied to the presiding municipal magistrate. This early use continued to be reflected in its other uses, such as alcaldes del crimen, the judges in the audiencias; Alcaldes de la Casa y Corte de Su Majestad, who formed the highest tribunal in Castile and also managed the royal court; alcaldes mayores, a synonym for corregidor; and alcaldes de barrio, who were roughly the equivalent of British parish constables. Because of this, the municipal alcalde was often referred to as an alcalde ordinario.

Canada

The chief executives of boroughs (arrondissements) in Quebec are termed mayors (maires/mairesses in French). A borough mayor simultaneously serves as head of the borough council and as a regular councillor on the main city council. The scheduling of municipal elections in Canada varies by jurisdiction, as each province and territory has its own laws regarding municipal governance.

As is the practice in most Commonwealth countries, in Canada a mayor is addressed as His/Her Worship while holding office.

In a few municipalities and townships in Ontario, the reeve is the elected head of the municipality, and the second-in-command is referred to as the deputy reeve. Historically, in some small townships, the title reeve was used instead of mayor. In some other municipalities, mayor and reeve were two separate offices, with the mayor retaining leadership powers while the reeve was equivalent to what other municipalities called an at-large councillor. Today most municipalities in the province now designate their elected municipal government heads as mayors, but a small handful retain the position. This continues to be the case in the following municipalities and townships:

Howick Township, Huron County

North Huron Township, Huron County

Beckwith Township, Lanark County

Drummond/North Elmsley Township, Lanark County

Lanark Highlands, Lanark County

Montague Township, Lanark County

Tay Valley Township, Lanark County

Township of The Archipelago, Parry Sound District

Alberton Township, Rainy River District

Chapple Township, Rainy River District

La Vallee Township, Rainy River District

Morley Township, Rainy River District

Dorion Township, Thunder Bay District

Gilles Township, Thunder Bay District

Brethour Township, Timiskaming District

Casey Township, Timiskaming District

Chamberlain Township, Timiskaming District

Municipality of Charlton and Dack, Timiskaming District

Evaturel Township, Timiskaming District

Gauthier Township, Timiskaming District

Harley Township, Timiskaming District

Harris Township, Timiskaming District

Hilliard Township, Timiskaming District

Hudson Township, Timiskaming District

James Township, Timiskaming District

Kerns Township, Timiskaming District

Village of Thornloe, Timiskaming District

The reeve is also the chief elected official in most of Alberta's municipal districts.

The elected heads of rural municipalities (RM) in the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan are usually referred to as a reeve.

Poland

As of 30 April 2022, there are altogether 2477 municipalities (gmina) in Poland, including 1513 rural gminas, while the remaining 968 ones contain cities and towns. Among them, 666 towns are part of an urban-rural gmina while 302 cities and towns are standalone as an urban gmina. The latter group includes 107 cities (governed by a prezydent miasta), including 66 cities with powiat rights. 37 cities among the latter group are over 100,000, including 18 cities serving as a seat for voivode or voivodeship sejmik, informally called voivodeship cities.

All municipalities in Poland including cities and towns are governed under the mandatory mayor–council government system. Executive power is vested in an official called one of the following:

a city mayor (prezydent miasta)

a town mayor (burmistrz)

a wójt which is the equivalent office in a rural municipality (gmina wiejska)

They are elected by a two-round direct election for a five-year term concurrently with the five-year term of the municipal council and cannot serve in the latter or in any higher-level deliberative bodies: a county council, a voivodeship sejmik, the Parliament of Poland or the European Parliament. Citizens with a criminal record cannot run for mayor, but only if sentenced for intentional criminal offence prosecuted ex officio. The municipal/town/city council is the legislative, budget-making and oversight body. Mayor is obliged to appoint his deputy. A town or city mayor may be scrutinized or denied funding for his/her projects by the council, but is not politically responsible to it and does not require its confidence to remain in office; therefore, cohabitation is not uncommon. A recall referendum may however be triggered through a petition supported by at least 1/10 of eligible voters, but the turnout in the recall referendum must be at least 3/5 of the number of people voting in the original election for the referendum to be valid and binding. A town/city mayor can also be dismissed by the prime minister in case of persistent transgression of the law.

Town/city mayors manage the municipal estate, issue administrative decisions and minor regulations, and incur liabilities within limits set by the municipal council. They prepare and present the planned budget to the municipal council, subject to its acceptation and amendments. After the municipal council votes to accept the budget, the town/city mayor is responsible for its realization. Town/city mayors are heads of the town/city hall (office), the register office (the town/city mayor may appoint deputies for these specific tasks), as well as the parent authority for all public kindergartens and elementary schools in the municipality. They are also personally responsible for the emergency management and civil defense in a municipality. A municipality itself is responsible among others for public transport, water supply and treatment, and waste management. A town/city mayor has the legal capacity to act as employer for all the officials of a town/city hall. Town/city mayors in Poland have wide administrative and staffing authority: the only municipal executive official that the town/city mayor cannot appoint or dismiss is a city treasurer, who is appointed by the town/city council. Although they do not have in Poland power to veto city council resolutions, their position is relatively strong and should be classified as a mayor-council government.In a city with powiat rights, the city mayor also has the powers and duties of a powiat executive board and a starosta.

In addition, an office of quarter mayor (burmistrz dzielnicy) exists in the auxiliary units of the city of Warsaw, called quarters. In spite of remaining an integral part of the city as an entity, the quarters have a degree of autonomy legally guaranteed through a form of an own local self-government exercising some powers devolved by law from the city. Each of the 18 city quarters has an own council (rada dzielnicy) which elects an executive board (zarząd dzielnicy) headed by a quarter mayor (burmistrz dzielnicy), the latter elected by the council among several candidates nominated by the city mayor of Warsaw among the council's members, as opposed to a town or a city mayor, both elected under direct suffrage.

United States

The mayor is the municipal head of government, the maximum civil authority at the municipal level, in most United States municipalities (such as cities, townships, etc.). In the United States, there are several distinct types of mayors, depending on whether the system of local government is council-manager government or mayor-council government.

Under the council-manager government system, the mayor is a first among equals on the city council, which acts as a legislative body while executive functions are performed by the appointed manager. The mayor may chair the city council, but lacks any special legislative powers. The mayor and city council serve part-time, with day-to-day administration in the hands of a professional city manager. The system is most common among medium-sized cities from around 25,000 to several hundred thousand, usually rural and suburban municipalities.

Under the mayor-council system, the mayoralty and city council are separate offices. This system may be of two types, either a strong mayor system or a weak mayor system. Under the strong mayor system, the mayor acts as an elected executive with the city council exercising legislative powers. They may select a chief administrative officer to oversee the different departments. This is the system used in most of the United States' large cities, primarily because mayors serve full-time and have a wide range of services that they oversee. In a weak mayor or ceremonial mayor system, the mayor has appointing power for department heads but is subject to checks by the city council, sharing both executive and legislative duties with the council. This is common for smaller cities, especially in New England. Charlotte, North Carolina is a large American city with a ceremonial mayor.

Many American mayors are styled "His Honor" or "Her Honor" while in office.

A 2014 analysis found no difference in performance between male and female mayors in the United States, and no evidence of a positive role model effect from female mayors inspiring future candidates. In 2016 author Mirya R. Holman wrote that female mayors "emphasize nurturer parent frames more frequently whereas male mayors emphasize strict father frames, but they discuss economic development at very similar levels".

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