mayor

A mayor - in Switzerland usually city or town president - heads the administration of a municipality or town . Depending on the state, it is elected directly by the citizens or residents or indirectly by the relevant city or municipal council.

Germany

In larger cities in Germany there are several mayors (e.g. building mayors, social mayors) who are assigned to a lord mayor and who are usually responsible for special areas of responsibility.

In most larger, especially in urban districts in Germany there is a mayor and one or more councilors that occasionally the official title of mayor have.

A distinction is usually made in the term mayor or mayor between the incumbent as a person (the so-called governor ) and the mayor as an organ in the sense of a legally created body of an administrative body . As an organ, the mayor or lord mayor is the authority of the municipality. In his function as an authority, the mayor performs public administration tasks and is in this respect part of the executive (cf., inter alia, Section 1, Paragraph 4 VwVfG ).

The term first mayor is used in Hamburg for the head of government and in large district towns and cities in Baden-Württemberg for the deputy mayor.

Special features, as in the city-states and Hanseatic cities, see the respective countries below.

history

Since the 13th century, mayors were at the head of the city council , the organ of the citizenship for self-government. In the Middle Ages, in addition to the Middle High German official title burge (r) meister, the even older Latin magister civium was in common use. Usually there were two mayors, but often several. One chaired the city council, and all originally only carried out its resolutions. Gradually the task of the entire self-administration grew to them. They were given police power and often also jurisdiction in minor matters (cf. designation market judge in the Hungarian administration in the k. U. K. Monarchy). The original subordination to a lordly bailiff or mayor soon gave way to coexistence as a rule. The mayors were appointed by the city lord from among the patricians or from the guilds or elected by the city council. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the choice gradually became a matter of form. The mayors were now officials appointed by the city lord (the imperial cities , however, were an exception). In the course of the 19th century the mayors were re-elected as community leaders.

The village community also had administrative functions and exercised lower jurisdiction . The mayors (also village masters, builders) were in most cases first of all community clerks and computers and subordinate to the mayor or the Heimberger . In the course of the early modern period, the mayor asserted himself as the most important official in many communities. In the course of this development, the mayor or Heimberger office mostly expired completely.

tasks

The (full-time) mayor has different tasks according to the respective municipal code:

He is the chairman of the city council and the head of the city administration (in Schleswig-Holstein only the city administration; in Lower Saxony he can also be the council chairman, as a rule a council member is elected for this.)
He is responsible for the preparation and implementation of the resolutions .
He is the legal representative of the community.
He is the supervisor of the community workers.
He is responsible for the proper execution of the instruction tasks.

countries

The mayors are in different salary groups in Germany, depending on the federal state, the size of the local authority and, if applicable, their function (e.g. second mayor, honorary mayor); the legal bases are named differently (in North Rhine-Westphalia: classification regulation). The mayor of Munich is in grade 11 of the B pay regulation B grouped.

Baden-Württemberg

The mayor of Baden-Württemberg is the chairman of the municipal council and head of the municipal administration . He represents the community externally. The mayor's term of office is eight years. Baden-Württemberg municipal law follows the model of the southern German council constitution .

Bavaria

In Bavaria , the First Mayor (official name: "First Mayor") and, since 1908, the Lord Mayor (official name: "Oberbürgermeister") are directly elected by the citizens of a municipality. The term of office is six years. An absolute majority of valid votes is required for election . If none of the mayoral candidates achieve this in the first ballot, the two candidates with the most votes will be run off . The legal basis for this is in the Bavarian Municipal and District Election Act (GLKrWG).

The first mayor represents the community externally, chairs the community, market community and city council and executes his decisions. He has full voting rights in the municipality / city council. In independent municipalities and in large district towns , he is named Lord Mayor. In these municipalities and in municipalities belonging to a district with more than 5,000 inhabitants, he is usually a temporary civil servant.

In municipalities belonging to a district that have more than 5,000, but no more than 10,000 inhabitants, the first mayor is an honorary official (honorary mayor) if the municipal council determines this by statute no later than the 90th day before a mayoral election. In municipalities with up to 5,000 inhabitants, the First Mayor is an honorary officer, unless the municipal council determines by statute at the latest on the 90th day before a mayor election that the First Mayor should be a temporary civil servant. (Art. 34 BayGO).

The second mayor (and possibly also a third mayor, honorary or professional) is elected by the city council or the municipal council from among its members . The designation in the Bavarian municipal code is "one or two other mayors" (Article 35). Their official title is "mayor" or "mayoress" they may also be used outside of the office.

The legal basis for the legal status of mayors can be found in the Bavarian Municipal Code (BayGO) and in the Bavarian Law on Municipal Electoral Officers (KWBG).

Brandenburg

In Brandenburg , the mayor has been directly elected since 1993. In the independent cities ( Brandenburg an der Havel , Cottbus , Frankfurt (Oder) and Potsdam ) he is called Lord Mayor. The mayor works on a voluntary basis in municipalities that are part of a public office; in municipalities not in office he is a full-time civil servant. The honorary mayor is elected for five years at the same time as the municipal council. The full-time mayor or mayor is elected as a full-time civil servant for a period of eight years. An absolute majority of valid votes is required for election. If none of the candidates achieve this in the first ballot, the two candidates with the most votes will be run off. This majority must be at least 15% of the persons entitled to vote. If no applicant receives this majority, the representative elects the mayor or lord mayor in this case.

In the districts of cities and municipalities, the mayor (formerly the mayor) is elected by the local advisory board from among its members.

Hesse

In Hesse , the municipalities are organized according to the so-called magistrate constitution , which gives the mayor a relatively weak position vis-à-vis the municipal council even after the introduction of direct elections in 1992 . The legal basis is the Hessian Municipal Code (HGO).

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , the mayor has been directly elected since 1999. There is a lord mayor in larger cities. According to the municipal electoral law, the term of office in full-time administrated municipalities is at least seven and a maximum of nine years; The main statutes regulate the details . The election takes place independently of the election of the municipal council. In municipalities administered on a voluntary basis, the term of office of the mayor is tied to the election period of the municipal council, i.e. it lasts five years. The directly elected mayor can only be recalled by referendum .

Lower Saxony

In Lower Saxony , the mayor or mayor of the entire municipality is always on a full-time basis. In independent cities , large independent cities and the cities of Hanover and Göttingen , he is referred to as mayor. The mayor is supported in representative matters by so-called honorary mayors . The term alderman is not used for them. The members of the administrative committee are called associates , with the honorary mayors being elected by the council from among their ranks. The (full-time) mayor in Lower Saxony is elected directly by the residents of the municipality / city. He is not chairman of the council by virtue of his office and since the Lower Saxony Municipal Constitutional Act came into force on November 1, 2011, according to Section 61 of the NKomVG, he can no longer be elected. His term of office is 8 years; it is three years longer than that of the members of the council. Accordingly, elections for the council and for the office of mayor do not have to take place at the same time. Since 2016, the term of office of the mayor has been gradually reduced to 5 years and the election dates have been synchronized so that the mayoral elections take place at the latest from 2021 together with the local elections. In Lower Saxony, Germany's longest-serving mayor, Heinrich Meyer-Hüdig, was also active from 1946 to 2001 in the village of Ehestorf , Rosengarten municipality .

North Rhine-Westphalia

In North Rhine-Westphalia , the mayor is elected by the citizens in a general, direct, free, equal and secret ballot. The municipal council elects up to three honorary deputies who are called “mayor”. The mayor can be voted out of office by the citizens of the municipality before the end of his term of office. The mayor heads the administration and is a temporary municipal electoral officer. If councilors are appointed, they form the administrative board together with the mayor and treasurer. The mayor chairs the meeting. The municipal administration is entrusted with all public tasks of the city and is led by the mayor.

Until 1994 there was a division into the head of administration and representatives of the municipality in all legal and administrative matters (upper town, city or municipality director) and the honorary mayor as chairman of the council. This system was introduced by the British occupying forces after the Second World War in 1945. It was also known as the municipal dual leadership. After the abolition of dual leadership, the mayors were initially elected by the council.

Since the local elections which took place in 1999 direct the full-time mayor in cities and towns through the Citizens for a term of five years. The term of office was extended to six years in 2007 with the law to strengthen local self-government in order to decouple the election of mayors from the election of councilors. The law to strengthen local democracy of April 9, 2013 reduced the term of office to five years. From 2020, the mayoral elections will be linked to the elections for city and municipal councils.

Rhineland-Palatinate

The municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate are called local municipality , unless they have been granted city rights and they belong to an association municipality . The head of a local community is called the local mayor , who works on a voluntary basis. If the municipality is a city, the head of the office is named city mayor. Several local parishes or cities belong to an association municipality, the head of the association administration is mayor and works full-time. Municipalities that are not affiliated but belong to a district are usually cities. The head of such a community or town is called mayor (not a town mayor) regardless of the type of community and is also a full-time employee. The mayor of an independent city or a large city belonging to a district is designated as the lord mayor, the aldermen assigned to him carry the official title of mayor . The term of office of the full-time mayor is eight years, that of the honorary mayor corresponds to the election period of the municipal council (currently five years).

Saarland

In Saarland , the election of the mayor is regulated in the Municipal Self-Administration Act (Sections 54 ff. KSVG). He is directly elected by those entitled to vote for a period of ten years (Section 31 (2) KSVG). Anyone who receives more than half of the valid votes cast in the first ballot from the applicants for the mayor's office is the mayor of the municipality. If none of the candidates can achieve the required majority, the two candidates, who received the most votes in the first ballot, compete against each other in the decisive second ballot (§ 56 in conjunction with § 46 KSVG).

Sample of the voting slip for voting out (2010)

The municipal council must initiate the election of the mayor. For this purpose, a first vote is necessary, in which a corresponding application is supported by at least half of the members (§ 58 KSVG). If the majority voted in favor of the application, a decision on the application can be made after two weeks at the earliest. A two-thirds majority is required here when voting by name. After the municipal council has passed a resolution, those entitled to vote must be voted out. In order to remove the mayor from office, a simple majority is required on election day, with at least 30% of those eligible to vote having to vote to be voted out. The deselection of a mayor before the end of the term of office was first carried out successfully in Saarland. Wolfgang Stengel, mayor of the municipality of Schiffweiler , was officially voted out of office on March 29, 2010 when the election results were announced.

Saxony

In Saxony , the mayor has been directly elected every seven years since 1994. In independent cities and large district cities, the mayor is called Lord Mayor. In communities with more than 5000 inhabitants, the mayor is a full-time civil servant. In smaller municipalities, the mayor works on a voluntary basis, but in cities and municipalities with more than 2000 inhabitants (provided they do not belong to an administrative association or an administrative community), the main statute stipulates that the mayor works full-time. Full-time mayors may only be elected if they have not yet reached the age of 65.

Regardless of the size of the community, the mayor is a full-time civil servant if the community fulfilling the community is part of an administrative community.

Larger municipalities can and independent cities must have one or more councilors as deputies of the mayor. The councilors are elected by the local council for a term of seven years; they are temporary electoral officials. In smaller municipalities, two deputy mayors are usually elected by the municipal council who work on a voluntary basis.

Saxony-Anhalt

In Saxony-Anhalt , the mayor has been directly elected since 1994.

Schleswig-Holstein

In Schleswig-Holstein the full-time mayors are directly elected by the people for a term of six to eight years; the exact term of office determines the main order of the municipality. Honorary mayors, which are usually found in official municipalities, are elected by the municipal council.

In Lübeck , the mayor is called this for historical reasons and his rank is comparable to a lord mayor that is found in other Schleswig-Holstein cities of a comparable and smaller size.

Thuringia

In Thuringia , the mayor has been directly elected for a regular term of six years since 1994. He holds the title of Lord Mayor in urban districts and cities belonging to large districts .

City-states

In the city-states , the mayors have a function that is comparable to a prime minister in other countries . You are the head of the state and the city at the same time. Their deputies also have the title of mayor. While in the Free Hanseatic Cities of Bremen and Hamburg the title of mayor is traditionally used for the head of state instead of lord mayor, the term governing mayor first came about for the regional head of West Berlin after a lord mayor had been appointed for East Berlin in 1948 . In 1991 a governing mayor was elected for all of Berlin.

Berlin

In Berlin , the governing mayor is both head of the state and the city. He is elected by the Berlin House of Representatives. Together with the senators ( ministers ) appointed by him, each of whom is subordinate to a senate administration ( ministry ), it forms the Senate of Berlin .

Under the title of mayor , he appoints two senators as his deputies.

The administrative head of a district office in one of the twelve districts of Berlin is called district mayor .

Bremen

In the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen , the mayor and president of the Senate is the head of the state and at the same time the head of the city of Bremen (but not Bremerhaven). The President of the Senate is elected by the state parliament, the Bremen Citizenship , which then elects the further Senate of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen as the state government. The President of the Senate and another Senator to be elected by the Senate from among its own ranks, as his deputy, are mayors (both are officially designated by tradition). Both mayors are also senators ( ministers ). Like the other senators, they are subordinate to various senatorial authorities ( ministries ).

In the seaside town of Bremerhaven , the city council, consisting of the mayor, the mayor (deputy) and the members of the city council, is elected by the city council on the basis of a municipal constitution.

Hamburg

In the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg , the First Mayor is both state and city head. He is elected by the state parliament, the Hamburg citizenship . He appoints his deputy the second mayor and the other senators ( ministers ) who are to be confirmed by the citizenship. These form the state government, the Senate of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg . The First Mayor is President of the Senate . The second mayor is also a senator. Like the other senators, a senate authority ( ministry ) reports to him .

The district office manager as the administrative manager of one of the seven district offices of the districts in Hamburg is colloquially referred to as the district mayor. This is sometimes the case, especially in the formerly independent cities that lost their own mayors after being incorporated into Hamburg in 1938.

Regulations for mayoral elections in the federal states
country	Type of office	Term of office	Nomination by	Electoral procedure 1st ballot	Electoral procedure 2nd ballot	Deselection	Age limits	position
Baden-Württemberg	unsalaried (usually less than 2000 inhabitants)	8 years	Individual application	absolute majority vote	relative majority vote, new ballot; no candidate restrictions	No	25–68 years	Head of Administration and Chairman of the Municipal Council
Baden-Württemberg	full-time	8 years	Individual application	absolute majority vote		No	25–68 years
Bavaria	unsalaried (usually less than 5000 inhabitants)	6 years	Parties / groups of voters	absolute majority vote	absolute majority vote; Runoff ballot: the two candidates with the most votes in the first ballot	No	18–67 years	Head of Administration and Chairman of the Municipal Council
Bavaria	full-time	6 years	Parties / groups of voters	absolute majority vote		No	18–67 years
Berlin	ruling mayor	usually 5 years	Parliamentary groups in the House of Representatives	by the House of Representatives (absolute majority vote)	by the House of Representatives (absolute majority vote)	Yes constructive vote of no confidence (absolute majority vote)	at least 18 years	Head of government
Brandenburg	voluntary (official municipalities)	5 years	Individual application / parties / groups of voters	absolute majority vote and approval quorum of 15% of the eligible voters	absolute majority vote; Runoff election: the two candidates with the most votes in the first ballot and a quorum of 15% of those eligible to vote (in the event of non-fulfillment, election by municipal council)	Yes by local council ( ² / ₃ -Mehrheit) or citizens (staggered quorum 25-15%) to initiate; In the case of a majority vote and a quorum of approval, 25% of the electorate	at least 18 years	Chairman of the Representation
Brandenburg	full-time	8 years	Individual application / parties / groups of voters				25–62 years	Head of administration and member of the municipal council
Bremen	mayor (President of the Senate, Bremen)	usually 4 years	Parliamentary groups	by the citizenship (absolute majority vote)	by the citizenship (absolute majority vote)	Yes constructive vote of no confidence (absolute majority vote)	at least 18 years	Head of government
Bremen	Lord Mayor (Bremerhaven)	6 years	Parliamentary groups of the city council	by the city council (absolute majority vote)	by the city council (absolute majority vote)	Yes destructive vote of no confidence ( ² ⁄ ₃ majority)	at least 18 years	Head of Administration and Chairman of the Magistrate
Hesse	full-time	6 years	Individual application / parties groups of voters	absolute majority vote	absolute majority vote; Runoff ballot: the two candidates with the most votes in the first ballot	Yes by local council ( ² / ₃ initiate -Mehrheit); in the event of a majority vote and approval quorum 30% of the electorate	at least 18 years	Head of administration and chairman of the community council
Hamburg	First Mayor (President of the Senate)	usually 5 years	Parliamentary groups	by the citizenship (absolute majority vote)	by the citizenship (absolute majority vote)	Yes constructive vote of no confidence (absolute majority vote)	at least 18 years	Head of government
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania	voluntary (official municipalities)	5 years	Individual application / parties groups of voters	absolute majority vote	absolute majority vote; Runoff ballot: the two candidates with the most votes in the first ballot	Yes by local council ( ² / ₃ initiate -Mehrheit); With a vote of ² ⁄ ₃ majority and approval quorum ¹ ⁄ _{3 of} the eligible voters	at least 18 years	Chairman of the municipal council
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania	full-time	7–9 years (main statutes)	Individual application / parties groups of voters	absolute majority vote			18-60 / 64 (on re-election)	Head of Administration
Lower Saxony	honorary (member communities of joint communities)	5 years	Council members	by council (absolute majority vote)	by council (absolute majority vote)	Yes by the Council ² / ₃ -Mehrheit	at least 18 years	Chairman of the Council
Lower Saxony	full-time	5 years	Individual application / parties groups of voters	absolute majority vote	absolute majority vote; Runoff ballot: the two candidates with the most votes in the first ballot	Yes to be initiated by the municipal council (3/4 majority); In the event of a vote, majority and approval quorum 25% of the electorate	23–67 years	Head of administration and member of the municipal council
North Rhine-Westphalia	full-time	5 years	Individual application / parties groups of voters	absolute majority vote	absolute majority vote; Runoff ballot: the two candidates with the most votes in the first ballot	Yes by Council ( ² / ₃ -Mehrheit) or citizens (Quorum staggered 20-15%) to initiate; In the case of a majority vote and a quorum of approval, 25% of the electorate	at least 23 years	Head of Administration and Chairman of the Council
Rhineland-Palatinate	voluntary (community members)	5 years	Individual application / parties groups of voters	absolute majority vote	absolute majority vote; Runoff ballot: the two candidates with the most votes in the first ballot	No	at least 23 years	Chairman of the municipal council
Rhineland-Palatinate	full-time	8 years	Individual application / parties groups of voters	absolute majority vote		Yes by council ( ² / ₃ initiate -Mehrheit); In the case of a majority vote and a quorum of approval, 30% of the electorate	23–65 years	Head of administration and chairman of the municipal council
Saarland	full-time	ten years	Individual application / parties groups of voters	absolute majority vote	absolute majority vote; Runoff ballot: the two candidates with the most votes in the first ballot	Yes by council ( ² / ₃ initiate -Mehrheit); In the case of a majority vote and a quorum of approval, 30% of the electorate	25–65 years	Head of administration and chairman of the municipal council (without voting rights)
Saxony	unsalaried (usually less than 5000 inhabitants)	7 years	Individual application / parties groups of voters	absolute majority vote	relative majority vote, new ballot; only candidates from the first ballot	Yes to be initiated by the municipal council ( ³ ⁄ ₄ majority) or citizens (quorum ¹ ⁄ ₃ , can be reduced to 1/5 in cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants); In the event of a majority vote and a quorum of approval, 50% of the eligible voters	18–65 years	Head of Administration and Chairman of the Municipal Council
Saxony	full-time	7 years	Individual application / parties groups of voters	absolute majority vote			18–65 years
Saxony-Anhalt	unsalaried (Member communities of administrative communities and of association communities)	7 years	Individual application	absolute majority vote	absolute majority vote; Runoff ballot: the two candidates with the most votes in the first ballot	Yes by council ( ² / ₃ initiate -Mehrheit); In the case of a majority vote and a quorum of approval, 30% of the electorate	at least 18 years	Chairman of the municipal council
Saxony-Anhalt	full-time	7 years	Individual application	absolute majority vote			21–65 years	Head of administration and member of the municipal council
Schleswig-Holstein	unsalaried (usually official municipalities and member municipalities of administrative communities)	5 years	Individual application	by municipal council (absolute majority vote)	by municipal council (absolute majority vote)	No	at least 18 years	Representative of the community
Schleswig-Holstein	full-time	6-8 years (Main statute)	Individual application / parties and groups of voters represented in the municipal council	absolute majority vote	absolute majority vote; Runoff ballot: the two candidates with the most votes in the first ballot	Yes by council ( ² / ₃ -Mehrheit) or citizens (Quorum 20%) initiate; When voting, majority and approval quorum 20% of the eligible voters	27–62 years	Head of administration and member of the municipal council (without voting rights)
Thuringia	unsalaried (less than 3000 inhabitants)	6 years	Individual application / parties groups of voters	absolute majority vote	absolute majority vote; Runoff ballot: the two candidates with the most votes in the first ballot	Yes by council ( ² / ₃ initiate -Mehrheit); In the case of a majority vote and a quorum of approval, 30% of the electorate	at least 21 years	Head of Administration and Chairman of the Municipal Council
Thuringia	full-time	6 years	Individual application / parties groups of voters	absolute majority vote			21–65 years

↑ All terms apply analogously to cities and other types of municipalities, unless otherwise stated.
^ Based on Kost / Wehling: Kommunalpolitik in der deutschen Länder, 2010
↑ The exception is always the administrative authority

Austria

In most federal states, the mayor is elected directly (by the people), but in Lower Austria , Styria and Vienna by the members of the municipal council . In Vienna the mayor is also the governor , the members of the municipal council are also members of the state parliament. If the mayor is not directly elected, the majority party usually provides the mayor. However, this depends on the respective majority in the municipal council.

The mayor is the executive body of the municipality and is responsible in particular for the implementation of the resolutions of the municipal council. He takes care of the matters of the transferred sphere of activity of the municipality within the framework of the instructions of the federal and state governments. The community employees are subordinate to him. He also represents a community externally. In Krems and Waidhofen an der Ybbs , these are the statutory cities in which the state police department is not the 1st instance security authority, the mayor, as the district administrative authority, is the 1st instance security authority. The mayor is the lost property and registration authority in all municipalities. The mayor is also the passport authority in municipalities that are part of a state police department.

Over the execution of these functions and through the proximity of the office holder to the population, there are always disputes that are also resolved on a personal level. A study carried out by the Austrian Association of Municipalities in 2019 showed that around 60% of the participants were exposed to greater pressure to justify themselves and over a third were exposed to threats, insults and slander. In another survey by the magazine “Kommunal”, around 42% of those questioned stated that they had experienced intimidation, assaults, threatening letters and hate e-mails through to physical attacks. For example, a shot attack (2003, Fohnsdorf ), strychnine-poisoned praline (2008, Spitz an der Donau ), acid attack (2008, Weißkirchen an der Traun ), sending of dead animals (2010, Ansfelden ; 2011, Eidenberg ), death threats and other attacks are cited . The willingness to take on the office of mayor is therefore decreasing.

In each municipality there is one, two or three vice mayors as representatives, depending on the election results and the size of the municipality. In some states it is envisaged that for individual districts of municipalities mayor may be appointed as representative of the mayor. In Vienna , district parliaments called district representatives are elected in the 23 districts of Vienna , each of which elects a district head . In Graz, district parliaments called district councils are elected in the 17 city districts, each of which elects a district head and his deputy.

After Christian Jachs , the incumbent mayor of Freistadt , died in August 2016 , a direct election (by the people) - specifically on December 4, 2016 - had to be scheduled, since the municipal and mayoral elections in Upper Austria in autumn 2015 had been held since the election less ^{than 3} ⁄ _{4 of} the legislative period, i.e. 4 out of 6 years, had passed. In addition to the election of the Federal President , no other election may actually take place on the same day. In this case, the National Council decided on an exception in order to be able to hold the 4th ballot for the BP at the same time as the mayoral election in Freistadt on December 4, 2016.

At the end of 2019, 177 of the 2096 municipalities had female mayors (8.44%, see proportions of women in the federal states from 2015 ).

Regulations for mayoral elections in the Austrian federal states
country	Term of office	Nomination by	Electoral procedure 1st ballot	Electoral procedure 2nd ballot	Deselection	Age limits	position
Burgenland	5 years	Party / voter group fG	absolute majority vote and mandate clause	usually absolute majority vote; Runoff election: the two candidates with the most votes in the first ballot (depending on the mandate clause)	Yes by council ( ² / ₃ initiate -Mehrheit); if voting, absolute majority and participation quorum 40% of the electorate	at least 18 years	Chairman of the municipality board, head of administration and chairman of the municipality council
Carinthia	6 years	Party / voter group fG	usually absolute majority vote and mandate clause, thus also elected to the municipal council	usually absolute majority vote; Runoff election: the two candidates with the most votes in the first ballot (depending on the mandate clause)	Yes by council ( ² / ₃ initiate -Mehrheit); if voting, absolute majority and participation quorum 40% of the electorate	at least 18 years	Chairman of the municipality board, head of administration and chairman of the municipality council
Lower Austria	5 years	Local councils from among their number	by municipal council (absolute majority vote)	by local council; Runoff election: the two candidates with the most votes in the first ballot (absolute majority vote)	Yes destructive vote of no confidence; by municipal council (2/3 majority)	at least 18 years	Chairman of the municipality board, head of administration and chairman of the municipality council
Upper Austria	6 years	Party / voter group fG	usually absolute majority vote and mandate clause, thus also elected to the municipal council	usually absolute majority vote; Runoff election: the two candidates with the most votes in the first ballot (depending on the mandate clause)	Yes by council ( ² / ₃ initiate -Mehrheit); absolute majority when voting	at least 18 years	Chairman of the municipality board, head of administration and chairman of the municipality council
Salzburg	5 years	Party / voter group fG	usually absolute majority vote and mandate clause	usually absolute majority vote; Runoff election: the two candidates with the most votes in the first ballot (depending on the mandate clause)	Yes by council ( ² / ₃ initiate -Mehrheit); majority vote in case of vote	at least 18 years	Chairman of the municipality board, head of administration and chairman of the municipality council
Styria	5 years	usually the strongest party in the local council	by municipal council (absolute majority vote)	by municipal council (absolute majority vote)	Yes destructive vote of no confidence; by municipal council (absolute majority) with the presence of at least 2/3 of the members	at least 18 years	Chairman of the municipality board, head of administration and chairman of the municipality council
Tyrol	6 years	Party / voter group fG	usually absolute majority vote and mandate clause	usually absolute majority vote; Runoff election: the two candidates with the most votes in the first ballot (depending on the mandate clause)	No	at least 18 years	Chairman of the municipality board, head of administration and chairman of the municipality council
Vorarlberg	5 years	Party / voter group fG	usually absolute majority vote and mandate clause	usually absolute majority vote; Runoff election: the two candidates with the most votes in the first ballot (depending on the mandate clause)	Yes by council ( ² / ₃ initiate -Mehrheit); if voting, absolute majority and participation quorum 40% of the electorate	at least 18 years	Chairman of the municipality board, head of administration and chairman of the municipality council
Vienna	usually 5 years	parties represented in the municipal council	by municipal council (absolute majority vote)	by local council (relative majority vote)	Yes by municipal council (absolute majority) if at least half of the municipal council members are present	at least 18 years	Governor

^ Based on Kost / Wehling: Kommunalpolitik in der deutschen Länder, 2010.
↑ fG: party, which also provides for the council election candidates; the mayoral candidate is at the top of the list.
↑ Mandate clause: associated party must have at least 1 mandate in the municipal council after the election.
↑ All designations apply analogously to statutory cities.

Switzerland

In Switzerland , the designation of mayor as the head of a political municipality no longer exists since the mid-19th century. The analogous designation is based on the function (as elected municipality head) mostly municipality president , depending on the place or canton but also city president, municipal mayor , mayor , Talammann, district captain etc., in French- speaking Switzerland Syndic (VD, FR, VS), Maire (GE , BE, JU) or President (s) (NE), in Italian-speaking Switzerland (TI) Sindaco or (GR) Podestà .

However, the term occurs here and there at the level of the civil parishes . For example, the official title of the President of the Bündner Bürgergemeinde Arosa is Mayor. Together with the citizens' councils, this forms the executive branch of the civil parish.

Liechtenstein

In Liechtenstein , the local councilor and the other community organs are freely elected by the community assembly. According to a princely decree from the 19th century, only the mayor in the main town of Vaduz is allowed to carry the title of mayor .

Italy

South-Tirol

The mayor is directly elected in South Tyrol. The electoral law differentiates between municipalities with more and less than 15,000 inhabitants: In villages with fewer than 15,000 inhabitants, all municipal council candidates are also candidates for mayor, unless they expressly waive them. The candidate with the most votes is elected; there is no run-off election. In the larger cities, a designated mayoral candidate is elected from a list or coalition. If none of the candidates achieve an absolute majority, there will be a runoff election.

In South Tyrol the designated deputy mayor is named and appointed by the mayor. In places with more than 13,000 inhabitants and in places where this is provided for by the municipal statutes, the deputy mayor may not belong to the same language group as the mayor.

The mayor is the head of the municipal government, which, depending on the municipality's status, is called a city council or a municipal committee . Members of this committee are the speakers who in the past carried the title of assessors in Italianizing .

The remuneration is determined by the regional council and weighted according to several parameters (number of inhabitants, number of parliamentary groups, etc.). The salaries of the vice mayor and the speakers are tied to that of the mayor according to a percentage key.

In the provincial capital Bozen he is also district chairman at the same time , which corresponds to an Austrian district captain.

Netherlands

Appointment of a mayor, municipality of Oude IJsselstreek , 2016. In front right the commissioner of the king Clemens Cornielje , who reads the oath of office, left the new mayor Otwin van Dijk

In the Netherlands , the mayor is not elected, but rather determined in large cities according to party-political proportionality, but as a rule it is primarily about the distribution of political power on the ground. The mayor, together with the wethouders (literally: 'law keepers', in German about lay judges or councilors), who are elected by the municipal council, form the government of the municipality. One speaks of the college van burgemeester en wethouders , abbreviated to b & w . The mayor is also the chairman of the municipal council. One of the wethouders is elected to the loco-burgemeester as the deputy mayor . Like the mayor, the wethouders are not allowed to belong to the municipal council, although the latter often come from its midst.

A discussion has arisen about whether the mayor should be elected in the future, but so far there have only been a few referenda on site (most recently in 2008). The government proposes two candidates and the residents of the town decide by popular vote. However, the two candidates usually belong to the same party. The social-liberal Democrats 66 party is particularly committed to direct elections. D66 Minister Thom de Graaf had come very far with his draft law on direct elections in 2005 , until the Social Democrats in the First Chamber finally brought it down. De Graaf resigned and was appointed mayor of Nijmegen in 2007.

According to a 2004 survey, two-thirds of Dutch people want direct voting and one-third are against. The majority of the supporters of each individual party are in favor of this. However, the De Graaf bill at the time was welcomed by only 53% of the respondents. According to a survey in 2010, members of the Dutch municipal council would like to keep the current situation: 46% believe that the mayor should continue to be appointed by the crown , as agreed with the municipal council. 32% favor a formal election by the council. 5% want the members of the local government to elect the mayor from among themselves, just as the prime minister is elected in the national government. Only 16% of the municipal council members are in favor of citizens' elections.

Typically, a Dutch mayor is a lawyer or administrative expert who heads one municipality for six years and then another, depending on which is offered to him. For example, the right -wing liberal Ivo Opstelten, who was born in Rotterdam in 1944, began his career in the municipal administration of Vlaardingen (1970 to 1972). From 1972 to 1977 he was mayor of Dalen, then of Doorn until 1980 and of Delfzijl until 1987. After a position in the Ministry of the Interior, he became mayor of Utrecht in 1992 and crowned his mayoral career with the second largest city in the country, Rotterdam (1999 to 2008).

In the Caribbean part of the Netherlands the function corresponding to the mayor is called gezaghebber , the institution corresponding to the college van burgemeester en wethouders is called bestuurscollege .

Romania

In Romania , the mayor (Romanian: primary ) is elected for four years and can run again for this office as often as desired.

San Marino

In San Marino , the mayor is elected for five years and can run for this office again as often as desired.

Hungary

The mayor (Hungarian: polgármester ) is the chairman of the local representative body. He is responsible for the successful and lawful activity of self-government. He appoints the employees of the office, leads the work of the office and the meetings of the community council, as well as represents the self-administration. The mayor is elected by direct elections for four years.

English speaking area

In the English-speaking world there is a direct translation of mayor as “Burgomaster”, but today's office is usually translated into English as Mayor , as it denotes the main representative of the citizenry there today.

United Kingdom

With the same roots as Major , the English Mayor was originally the feudal district administrator, but the citizens of London at some point gained the right to elect the Mayor themselves. This right spread, and in today's parlance Mayor means the chairman of the municipal council (chief magistrate). Usually this is elected indirectly by the local council. The title Mayor is also used in Wales and Northern Ireland , but not in Scotland , where the title is "Provost".

United States

The title “Mayor” is also the common name in the USA , but the city council is often divided there: in the two-pronged council-manager government there are the offices of council chairman and administrative director, with city council mainly in the hands of the the latter city councilor, who does not belong to the city council but is appointed by it. The term mayor or mayor applies here to the council chairman.

literature

Henry Bäck, Hubert Heinelt , Annick Magnier (Eds.): The European Mayor: Political Leaders in the Changing Context of Local Democracy. Springer-VS, Wiesbaden 2006, ISBN 978-3-531-14574-7 (English).
Jörg Bogumil , Hubert Heinelt (Hrsg.): Mayors in Germany: Political science studies on directly elected mayors. Springer-VS, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 978-3-531-14541-9 .
Daniel Fuchs: The election of mayors - a nationwide comparison . Edited by Sebastian Olthoff, Municipal Science Institute of the University of Potsdam, July 2007, ISBN 978-3-939469-91-9 ( PDF: 342 kB, 109 pages on kobv.de).
David H. Gehne: Mayor: manager between the citizenry, council and administration. Boorberg, Stuttgart 2012, ISBN 978-3-415-04875-1 .
Vinzenz Huzel: Mayors in Baden-Württemberg. An office in transition. Doctoral thesis TU-Darmstadt 2019. Nomos, Baden-Baden 2019, ISBN 978-3-8487-6240-8 ( excerpt in the Google book search).
Timm Kern : Why are mayors voted out? Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2007.
Helga Lukoschat , Jana Belschner: Women lead municipalities: An investigation into mayors in East and West. European Academy for Women in Politics and Business Berlin (EAF), Berlin 2014 ( download page ).
Michael Partmann, Gerd Strohmeier : Political constitution of the local level. In: From Politics and Contemporary History . No. 38/39: Parlamentarismus , September 2012, pp. 38–43 ( online at bpb.de).
Paul Witt (Hrsg.): Career opportunity mayor: Guide for the successful candidacy and administration. 2nd, revised edition. Richard Boorberg, Stuttgart a. a. 2016, ISBN 978-3-415-05415-8 ( excerpt in the Google book search).

Web links

Commons : mayor (mayors) - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Wiktionary: Mayor - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Literature on the subject of mayors in the catalog of the German National Library .
European Academy for Women in Politics and Business Berlin (EAF): Political advice: MAYORESS - Empowerment and networking of female leaders in local politics in Germany, France, Poland and Austria. EU project 2019-2021.
Lisa Schnell: Local election: “District Administrator” and “Mayor”? It doesn't even exist. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . February 11, 2020 (“at least only the male form is provided on Bavarian ballot papers”).
Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ): Equal Opportunities Atlas: Administrative Heads. In: bmfsfj.de. Data status: December 2017 (representation of women at the top of local authorities).
Paul Witt : What happens in public administration? Thoughts on the development of the mayor's profession in Baden-Württemberg. In: Verwaltungmodern.de. April 28, 2007 ( University for Public Administration and Finance Ludwigsburg ).

Individual evidence

↑ See e.g. B. City of Tübingen - building mayor

^ Fezer against Wölfle - Who will be the new social mayor , Stuttgarter Zeitung

↑ BSG, judgment of June 17, 2008 , Az. B 8 / 9b AY 1/07 R, full text.

↑ Municipal Code for the Free State of Bavaria in the version published on August 22, 1998 (GVBl. P. 796), Art. 34 ff. BayRS 2020-1-1-I.

↑ Ulrich Wagner: Würzburg rulers, Bavarian minister-presidents, chairmen of the district council / district council presidents, regional presidents, bishops, lord mayors 1814–2006. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes, Volume I-III / 2, Theiss, Stuttgart 2001-2007; III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. Volume 2, 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 1221-1224 and 1379; here: p. 1379, note 10.

↑ Weil shortens the term of office for mayors. In: www.haz.de. Retrieved April 30, 2014 .

↑ Mayor terms of office shortened. In: www.weser-kurier.de. Retrieved April 30, 2014 .

↑ Hamburg - Harburg Meyer-Hüdig will be 85 today from 02/14/06. Retrieved September 11, 2015 .

↑ Applicable laws and ordinances (SGV. NRW.) As of July 5, 2019. Municipal code for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (GO NRW), announcement of the new version. In: nrw.de. Ministry of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia, accessed on July 14, 2019 .

^ GV. NRW. Edition 2007 No. 21 from October 16, 2007 pages 373 to 404 | State law NRW. Retrieved May 2, 2019 .

↑ NRW elects mayors and councilors again in one day / Local Minister Jäger: Joint election underlines the community of responsibility of local representative bodies , nrw.de, March 20, 2013. Accessed on September 29, 2013.

↑ Municipal Self- Administration Act (Saarland) , accessed on March 30, 2010 (PDF; 262 kB)

↑ Off for Stengel ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Saarländischer Rundfunk , March 30, 2010. Accessed March 30, 2010.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.sr-online.de

↑ Schiffweiler mayor voted out: Who will be the successor? In: sol.de , March 29, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2010.

↑ Marlene Penz: Dead mice and poisonous chocolates. Targeting politicians. Due to their proximity to the population, mayors are increasingly exposed to violence. In: daily newspaper Kurier , Sunday 8 March 2020, p. 21.

↑ Alexandra Keller: Mayor's chairs are no longer in demand. In: public. The magazine for decision-makers in politics and administration. Issue 10/2019. PBMedia GmbH, Vienna. ZDB ID 2505166-0 . Pp. 8-11.

^ Message: Two elections on Sunday in Freistadt. In: ORF.at . November 29, 2016, accessed December 14, 2019.

↑ Data table: Our mayors. In: Gemeindebund.at . Data status November 2019, accessed on December 16, 2019 ( single graphic 1999–2019 ).

^ Arosa municipality - civil parish .

↑ See e.g. B. NRC Handelsblad of December 19, 2007 ( Memento of December 19, 2007 in the Internet Archive ).

↑ See Peil.nl ( Memento of the original from August 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (free registration required), Category Vernieuwing, 08-03-2004 Burgermeester kiezen , accessed on February 6, 2010. @1@ 2

↑ See Trouw: Een fascinerende hondebaan , accessed February 6, 2010.

↑ Interview in the Netherlands-Net of the WWU

[15] All terms apply analogously to cities and other types of municipalities, unless otherwise stated.

[16] Based on Kost / Wehling: Kommunalpolitik in der deutschen Länder, 2010

[17] The exception is always the administrative authority

[22] Based on Kost / Wehling: Kommunalpolitik in der deutschen Länder, 2010.

[23] G: party, which also provides for the council election candidates; the mayoral candidate is at the top of the list.

[24] Mandate clause: associated party must have at least 1 mandate in the municipal council after the election.

[25] All designations apply analogously to statutory cities.

[1] See e.g. B. City of Tübingen - building mayor

[2] Fezer against Wölfle - Who will be the new social mayor , Stuttgarter Zeitung

[3] BSG, judgment of June 17, 2008 , Az. B 8 / 9b AY 1/07 R, full text.

[4] Municipal Code for the Free State of Bavaria in the version published on August 22, 1998 (GVBl. P. 796), Art. 34 ff. BayRS 2020-1-1-I.

[5] Ulrich Wagner: Würzburg rulers, Bavarian minister-presidents, chairmen of the district council / district council presidents, regional presidents, bishops, lord mayors 1814–2006. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes, Volume I-III / 2, Theiss, Stuttgart 2001-2007; III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. Volume 2, 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 1221-1224 and 1379; here: p. 1379, note 10.

[6] Weil shortens the term of office for mayors. In: www.haz.de. Retrieved April 30, 2014 .

[7] Mayor terms of office shortened. In: www.weser-kurier.de. Retrieved April 30, 2014 .

[8] Hamburg - Harburg Meyer-Hüdig will be 85 today from 02/14/06. Retrieved September 11, 2015 .

[9] Applicable laws and ordinances (SGV. NRW.) As of July 5, 2019. Municipal code for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (GO NRW), announcement of the new version. In: nrw.de. Ministry of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia, accessed on July 14, 2019 .

[10] GV. NRW. Edition 2007 No. 21 from October 16, 2007 pages 373 to 404 | State law NRW. Retrieved May 2, 2019 .