"
Mayor" (from the
Latin
māior, meaning "greater") is a modern title used in many
countries for the highest ranking officer in a
municipal government.
In many systems, the mayor is an elected
politician who serves as
chief executive officer and/or
ceremonial official of many types of
municipalities. Worldwide, there is a wide
variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and
responsibilities of a mayor, as well as the means by which a mayor
is elected or otherwise mandated.
Municipal mayoral types and titles
English-Saxon mayors and counterparts
In England, the mayor is the modern descendant of 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 Conquest. This official was elected by
popular choice, a privilege secured from King John. By the
beginning of the twelfth century the title of portreeve gave way to
that of mayor as the designation of the chief officer of London.
The adoption of the title by other boroughs followed at various
intervals.
In the 19th century, in the United Kingdom, the
Municipal Corporations Act
1882, section 15, regulated the election of mayors. He was to
be a fit person elected annually on 9 November by the council of
the borough from among the aldermen or councillors or persons
qualified to be such. His term of office was one year, but he is
eligible for re-election. He may appoint a deputy to act during
illness or absence, and such deputy must be either an alderman or
councillor. A mayor who was absent from the borough for more than
two months becomes disqualified and vacates his office. A mayor was
ex officio a justice of the peace for the borough during
his year of office and the next year. He received such remuneration
as the council thought reasonable. These provisions have now been
repealed.
The office of
mayor in
most modern English boroughs and towns does not entail any
important administrative duties. It is generally regarded as an
honour conferred for local distinction, long service on the
Council, or for past services. The mayor (who must be a serving
elected
councillor) is expected to devote
much of his time to civic, ceremonial, and representational
functions, and to preside over meetings which have for their object
the advancement of the public welfare. His or her administrative
duties are to act as returning officer at municipal elections, and
as chairman of the meetings of the council. However,
reforms recently introduced mean
that 12 English boroughs now have
directly-elected mayors
who combine the 'civic' mayor role with that of Leader of the
Council and have significantly greater powers than either.
The mayor of a
town council is
officially known as
town mayor (although in popular
parlance, the word "town" is often dropped).
Mayors are not appointed to District Councils which have not
adopted the title of
borough. Their place is
taken by the Chairman of Council, who undertakes exactly the same
functions and is, like a Mayor, the civic head of the district
concerned.
Other counterparts
In
Germany
, Scandinavia and the
Netherlands
(see below) the chief town magistrate is called
burgomaster 'Chief of the
Bürger viz. burgers/citoyens, i.e., Burgesses,
citizens' (see that article G. Bürgermeister, Dutch burgemeester; Swedish borgmästare; Estonian bürgermeister; Danish borgmester; Luxemburgish
buergermeeschter; French-speaking parts of Belgium
use
bourgmestre).
The
equivalent in Italy
is
sindaco (historical titles include podestà), in Greece
δήμαρχος
'demarkhos' (the "archon of the deme"), in France
Maire, in Argentina
intendente, in
Bohemia starosta, in Brazil
prefeito 'prefect', in Romania
primar and in Spain
alcalde, a term derived from a Moorish post's Arabic name.
In
Canada
municipal titles vary from province to province,
but the highest official of a First
Nation community holds the title of chief. In
addition, provinces which have rural municipalities in place of
counties refer to their head elected official as
reeve,
although some such municipalities are now changing the title to
mayor as well.
In the early 20th century, and for the most still, the English
method of selecting a mayor by the council was followed for the
corresponding functionaries in France (except Paris) and the more
important cities of Italy. Direct appointment by the central
government exists in Belgium, The Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.
As a rule, too, the term of office is longer in other countries
than in the United Kingdom. In France election is for six years, in
The Netherlands for six, in Belgium for an indefinite period. In
France the maire, and a number of experienced members termed
adjoint au maire 'mayoral adjunct', who assist him as an executive
committee, are elected directly by the municipal council from among
their own number. Most of the administrative work is left in the
hands of the maire and his adjuncts, the full council meeting
comparatively seldom. The adjuncts receive no salary.
In
Finland
, there are
no mayors, although plans hnstitute the office in Tampere
. The
highest executive official is not democratically elected, but
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 refers to the highest official in the registry office,
not the city manager. In addition,
pormestari is also a
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".
This is
similar to Portugal
, where the highest municipal authority is the
presidente da Câmara Municipal, the 'president of the
Municipal Chamber', appointed to his office by the city
council.
In
Poland
the chief executive of a town or city is called
burmistrz or, in towns with more than 100,000 inhabitants
or others which traditionally use the title,
prezydent. The equivalent title in a rural commune
(
gmina) is
wójt. These are all directly elected
posts.
Australia
On
Australian councils, the Mayor is
generally the member of the Council who acts as ceremonial
figurehead at official functions, as well as carrying the authority
of Council between meetings. Mayoral decisions made between
meetings are subject to Council and may be confirmed or repealed if
necessary. Mayors in Australia may be elected either directly
through a ballot for the position of Mayor at a local-government
election, or alternatively may be elected from within the Council
at a meeting in September.
The civic regalia and insignia of local government have basically
remained unaltered for centuries.The robes, the mayoral chain and
the mace are not intended to glorify the individual, but rather
they are a uniform of office and are used to respect and honour the
people whom the users serve.
The Mayoral robe is crimson with lapels and sleeves trimmed in
ermine. The Mayor may also wear a lace fall (neck piece) and
cuffs.
The Deputy-Mayoral robe is crimson with lapels and sleeves trimmed
with black velvet and bordered with lapin.
Mayors have the title of
His/Her
Worship whilst holding the position.
In councils where
Councillors are
elected representing political parties, the Mayor is normally the
leader of the party receiving the most seats on council.
Canada
The mayor
is the leader in most Canadian municipalities. However, some Canadian
provinces (e.g.
Ontario
) still use
the term reeve for the elected head of a small village, a
township or a rural municipality, performing a
similar role to the mayor of a town or city. The heads of county
governments in Nova
Scotia
are often called warden, though several
counties have started to use the term mayor
instead. The town of Niagara-on-the-Lake
, Ontario is the only municipality in Canada whose elected
head holds the traditionally British title of Lord
Mayor.
The chief
executives of boroughs (arrondissements) in Quebec
are termed
mayors (maires/mairesses). A borough mayor
simultaneously serves as head of the borough council and as a
regular councillor on the main city council.
Germany
In
Germany local
government is regulated by state
statutes. Nowadays only the burgomasters of the three city-states (Berlin
, Hamburg
and Bremen
) are still
elected by the respective city or community council. In all
the other states the burgomasters are now elected directly by the
EU citizens living in that area. The post
of burgomaster may be said to be a professional one, the
burgomaster being the head of the local government, and requiring,
in order to be eligible, a training in administration. In big
cities (details are regulated by state statutes) the official title
is Oberbürgermeister (chief burgomaster). In these cities a
"simple" burgomaster is just a deputy responsible for a distinct
task (e.g., welfare or construction works). Big cities are usually
kreisfrei ("free of district"). That means that the city council
also has the powers and duties of a rural district council. The
leader of a rural district council is called Landrat ("land
counsellor"). In that case the chief burgomaster has also the
duties and powers of a Landrat.
The term Oberbürgermeister is not used in
the three city-states (e.g., in Berlin Regierender
Bürgermeister ("governing burgomaster") is used).
India
In
India
, mayor acts as city bureaucrat who is generally a
state-appointed officer. The Mayor in the
Municipal Corporation is usually
chosen through indirect vote by the councilors from among
themselves for a term of one year, which is renewable. The Mayor
generally lacks executive authority. The Municipal Commissioner
serves as the Principal Executive Officer subject to the power and
administration of the Mayor as the Chief Executive Officer.
Iran
In
Iran
, Mayor is executive manager of city and elected by
The Islamic City Council.The Mayor is elected for a four-year
term.
Japan
Japan
's Local-Autonomy Law of 1947 defines the structure of Japanese local
governments, which were strengthened after World War II. It gives strong executive
power to the mayor in the local politics like
strong
mayors in large cities in the United States of America.The
titles that are translated as "mayor" by the governments are those
of the heads of
cities ,
towns ,
villages , and Tokyo's
special wards .
(The head of the
Tokyo prefecture
is the .)A mayor is elected every four years
by direct popular votes held separately from the assembly. A mayor
can be
recalled by a popular
initiative but the
prefectural
and the national governments cannot remove a mayor from office.
Towards the assembly the mayor prepares budgets, proposes local
acts and has
vetoes on local acts just approved by the assembly
which can be overridden by two-thirds assembly support. A mayor can
resolve the assembly if the assembly passes a
motion of no confidence or if the
mayor thinks the assembly has no confidence in fact.
Moldova
The Mayor of the municipality in Moldova is elected for four years.
In
Bălţi
, Vasile
Panciuc (PCRM) is the incumbent from 2001 and was re-elected twice:
in 2003 during the anticipated elections (as a result of a new
reform of the administrative division in Moldova in 2003), and in
2007. In Chişinău
, the last mayor elections had to be repeated three
times, because of the low rate of participation.
As a
result, Dorin Chirtoaca (Liberal Party), won the last mayor
elections in Chişinău.
Romania
The Mayor
of the municipality in Romania is elected for four years.In
Bucharest
for example, Traian
Băsescu (The Alliance of Justice and Truth), the president of
Romania was the Mayor of the municipality from 2000 to
2004.
Netherlands
In the
Netherlands, the mayor (in Dutch:
burgemeester) is the leader of the municipal executive ('College van Burgemeester
en Wethouders'). In the Netherlands, burgermeesters are
de facto appointed by the national
cabinet,
de jure by the
monarch. They preside both the
municipal executive and the legislative ('
gemeenteraad'). The title is sometimes
translated as
burgomaster, to emphasize
the appointed, rather than elected, nature of the office. The
appointment procedure was recently brought for discussion. The
appointment procedure is considered undemocratic. Alternatives are
direct election of the mayor by the people or appointment by the
gemeenteraad. A constitutional change to allow this failed
to pass the
Senate in May
2005.
Philippines
MAYONA
Spain and Spanish America
Alcalde is the most common
Spanish term for the mayor of a town or
city. It is derived from the
Arabic
al-qaḍi ( قاضي ), i.e., "the (
Sharia)
judge," who often had
administrative, as well as judicial, functions.
Although the Castilian alcalde and the Andalusian
qaḍi had slightly different attributes
(the qaḍi oversaw an entire province, the alcalde
only a municipality; the former was appointed by the ruler of the
state, the latter was elected by the municipal council) the adoption of this
term reflects how much Muslim society in the Iberian Peninsula
influenced the Christian one in the early phases of the Reconquista. As Spanish Christians took
over an increasing part of the Peninsula, they adapted Muslim
systems and terminology for their own use.
Today it refers to the executive head of a municipal or local
government, who usually does not have judicial functions.
The word
intendente is used in Argentina and Paraguay
for the office that is analogous to a
mayor.
Sweden
The Swedish title
borgmästare (
burgomaster) was abolished in the
municipal reform of 1971. Today,
the
municipal commissioner -
the highest ranking politician in each municipality - is informally
titled "mayor" in English.
Taiwan
In the
Republic of
China
in Taiwan
the mayor is
the head of a city's government and is completely distinct from the
associated city's council, which is in charge of legislative
affairs. The mayor and city council are elected separately
by the city's residents.
Ukraine
In
Ukraine
was introduced a title of Mer for the
position of the head of the municipal state administration in the
federal cities of Kiev
and Sevastopol
. In the rest of the urban and rural
settlements the position is unofficial and is simply referring to
the head of a local council who at the moment of such assignment
cannot be affiliated with any party of the council.
United States
In the
United
States
, there are several distinct types of mayors,
depending on the system of local government. Under
council-manager government, the
mayor is a
first among equals on
the
city council, analogous to a
head of state for the city. He or she
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.
In the second form, known as
mayor-council government, the
mayoralty and city council are separate offices. Under a
strong
mayor system, the mayor acts as an elected executive with the
city council functioning with legislative powers. He or she 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
and Minneapolis, Minnesota
are two notable large cities with a ceremonial
mayor.
Many American mayors are styled “
His/Her Honor”
while in office, sometimes corrupted in jest to “Hizzoner,”
especially in the tabloid press.
Multi-tier local government
In several countries, where there is not local
autonomy, mayors are often appointed by some branch
of the federal or regional government.
In some cities,
subdivisions such as boroughs may have their
own mayors; this is the case, for example, with the arrondissements of Paris
, Montreal
, and Mexico
City
. In Belgium, the capital, Brussels
, is administratively one of the federation's three
regions, and is the only city subdivided, without the other
regions' provincial level, into 19 rather small municipalities,
which each have an elected--formally appointed--Burgomaster (i.e.,
Mayor, responsible to his / her elected council); while Antwerp
, the other major metropolitan area, has one large
city (where the boroughs, former municipalities merged into it,
elect a lower level, albeit with very limited competence) and
several smaller surrounding municipalities, each under a normal
Burgomaster as in Brussels.
In the
People's
Republic of China
, the Mayor (市長) may be the administrative head of
any municipality, provincial, prefecture-level, or
county-level. The Mayor is usually the most recognized
official in cities, although the position is the second-highest
ranking official in charge after the local Communist Party
Secretary. In principle, the Mayor (who also serves as the Deputy
Communist Party Secretary of the city) is responsible for managing
the city administration while the Communist Party Secretary is
responsible for general policy and managing the party bureaucracy,
but in practice the roles blur, frequently causing conflict.
Sources and references
(incomplete)
- A. Shaw, Municipal Government in Continental
Europe
- J - A. Fairlie, Municipal Administration
- S. and B. Webb, English Local Government
- Redlich and Hirst, Local Government in England
- A. L. Lowell, The Government of England.
See also
- Historical
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