District Head
A district chairman (also district councilor, district advisory council chairman, district mayor ) is the head of a city district in a larger city and the chairman of the district council.
Germany
The Prussian city order of 1808 made it possible for the first time to appoint district heads in larger or populous cities. Today the federal states of the Federal Republic of Germany permit the establishment of similar organs (district council chairman, district advisory council chairman) in the municipalities. The district representatives are elected in local elections alongside the city council of the respective major city. The members of the district council elect the district chairman from among their ranks.
In smaller municipalities, district heads are elected by the residents in the peasantry and appointed by the municipalities to an honorary position. They are responsible for all matters in the community's farmers. District heads are contact persons for the citizens and contact persons between citizens and administration.
In individual countries
In Baden-Württemberg there are both honorary and full-time district heads; the latter are elected by the entire municipal council. In the state capital Stuttgart, for example, there are honorary district heads in the five inner city districts, because there are no local administrations of their own. Full-time district heads are elected in the 17 outer city districts; they chair the district councils and manage their local administration as chief officers.
In Hamburg, a similar position is called district office manager .
Austria
In Austria there are only district heads in the two largest cities, Vienna and Graz .
Nomination
In Vienna, the party with the highest number of votes in the district representative elections automatically receives the right to appoint the district head. Furthermore, the strongest party provides the 1st deputy district chairman, while the 2nd district chairman deputy goes to the second largest party. The district representative is assigned to the district head . While the deputy district chief must belong to the district council, this is not required for the district chief. The district heads or their first deputy are usually also the chairpersons of the respective district representatives; these functions are rarely separated (for example in the Josefstadt district of Vienna until November 2010).
Competencies
The district heads and the elected district representatives in Vienna are responsible, among other things, for compulsory education, local beautification, streets, etc. Competencies and budget are allocated by the city. The district head is formally subordinate to the mayor.