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MayorsThe world's largest cities and their mayors
 Mayors in Europeand their powers January 2018: A plethora of city leadership models exist across Europe, depending on history and political culture, though the challenges facing urban areas are mostly identical. While in France, Spain, Greece and Portugal the mayor is head of the party list on the council, in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands mayors are appointed by the central government for a six-year term. In Germany, mayors are directly elected, as are all metro mayors in England. In many European countries mayors enjoy considerable powers and their responsibilities cover a wide array of day-to-day activities as well as longterm projects such as health, education, policing, environment and culture. 2018 EDITION  Belgian local governmentand mayors of largest cities Government: In addition to three regions and three cultural communities, Belgium is also divided into 10 provinces and 589 municipalities. The provincial governments are primarily administrative units and are politically weak. A governor appointed by the King presides over each province. Each governor is supported by an elected Provincial Council of 47 to 84 members (depending on the size of the province), which sits only four weeks a year. Municipal governments, on the other hand, are vigorous political entities with significant powers and a history of independence dating from medieval times. 2018 EDITION  Japanese mayors receiveupper management salaries February 2018: Mayors in Japan are typically among the highest earners in their municipal government with a salary that is comparable to that of upper-middle management in a large firm. Topping the table of highest earning mayors is Fumiko Hayashi of Yokohama City who receives an annual salary of ¥19.2 million, while at the other end of the scale Takashi Kawamura of Nagoya receives just over a quarter of this figure with an annual pay packet of ¥5.3 million. MORE  Britain’s public service ethoscurbs elected mayors’ salaries January 2018: In the UK local politics is seen as community service rather than a professional career and this is reflected in the salaries paid to elected mayors. By contrast, senior officials in city administrations are often paid more than double the mayor’s salary. For instance, the new Metro Mayor of the Tees Valley receives a modest £35,800 per year, yet the authority’s chief executive takes home a more impressive £135,000, collecting almost £100,000 more. MORE  German big-city mayors receiverelatively modest financial rewards December 2017: The salaries awarded to the mayors of Germany’s largest cities are relatively modest compared to the remuneration packages enjoyed by senior management in industry and business. The Mayor of Berlin, who also functions as a state prime minister, has a basic annual salary of some €168,000 (US$198,000), while the mayors of Cologne and Munich earn €143,000 and €147,000 respectively. Mayors of smaller large cities (Grossstädte) such as Ingolstadt, Saarbrücken or Osnabrück receive little more than €100,000 per year. MORE  Spanish local governmentand mayors of largest cities December 2017: The governance of the Spanish municipalities belongs to the City Council. It is a collegiate organ that leads the municipal administration. The City Council is made up of Councillors, elected by popular vote. The number of councillors may vary according to the number of residents, from five to 25. The president of the City Council is the Mayor, who is elected by and from the councillors. 2018 EDITION  US local government andmayors of largest cities November 2017: There are 19,429 municipal governments in the United States. Many small towns use the council-manager system (most counties are run this way) and those that don’t, have a weak mayor-council system. Almost all large US cities have strong mayor systems. Towns with populations of 5,000 or less (varies between states) are not allowed to incorporate and are overseen by the county government. Mayors, and the city council, are directly elected. The length of a term and the number of term limits are in the city charter, as is the day of election. Most mayoral elections take place on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November to coincide with Federal elections, which take place then (as per the US Constitution), but not all municipalities do this. 2018 EDITION  Canadian local governmentand Mayors of largest cities December 2017: In Canada cities and towns are considered creatures of provincial and territorial governments, existing by provincial and territorial legislation. Provinces and territories can create, modify, or eliminate a municipality as they see fit such as amalgamations and the creation of regional governments. They also dictate the limits of the powers of municipal governments. Municipalities are broadly categorized as ‘Upper tier’ municipalities and ‘Lower Tier’ municipalities. The prior includes Regional Municipalities, Counties, and Districts lead by a Chair or a Warden. Existing with the upper tier municipalities, the latter includes Cities, Towns, Townships, and Municipalities, which are lead by a Mayor or a Reeve. 2018 EDITION  Japanese local governmentand Mayors of largest cities October 2017: Japan, the world’s third-largest economy by GDP and 10th largest by population, is a unitary state, governed at national level by a Prime Minister and Cabinet largely chosen from the bi-cameral National Diet. The two-tier local government system in Japan is composed of 47 prefectural governments (roughly akin to a county), each headed by a directly-elected Governor (elected on a four-year term) and 1,719 municipalities, each headed by a directly-elected Mayor (elected likewise). 2017 EDITION French local government and Mayors of largest cities  Government: Mainland France consists of 36,569 municipalities (communes) in 22 regions. In addition there are 212 communes in French overseas territories. Council elections are held every six years. The last one was held in March 2014. The first task of a newly constituted council is to elect a mayor, whose term of office is six years. If a mayor is appointed to another post in government, a deputy performs his/her duties. A mayor’s responsibilities include: Civil registration, culture, economy, education, environment, public order, roads, social welfare, urban planning. 2017 EDITIONItalian local government and mayors of largest cities Government: Mayors play a central role in Italian national life and are a settled feature of the political system. The more than 8,000 communes are each headed by a mayor (sindaco) and elected council (consiglio comunale) of between 15 and 80 members. MORE  Polish local governmentand mayors of largest cities Government: Since 1999, Poland has been divided into provinces, counties and municipalities. The country has currently 16 provinces, 379 counties, including 65 cities with county status, and 2,479 communes or municipalities. Some 61 per cent of Poland's population of 38.6 million live in cities. The country's capital Warsaw is home to 1.7 million people, while there are four other cities with populations of more than 500,000. Eleven cities have populations of between 200,000 and half a million. MORE  German local governmentand mayors of largest cities Government: Germany is a country made up of thousands of towns and cities, all with directly elected mayors. A city (Großstadt) is officially defined as an administration unit with a population greater than 100,000. As of 2013, there are 76 cities in Germany. Only four cities, Berlin, Hamburg, München (Munich) and Köln (Cologne), are Millionenstädte - cities with a population of more than one million. Nine cities have a population of more than 500,000 people. The mayors’ terms of office vary between five and nine years, depending on the state. Each municipal council is headed by an elected mayor, known as Bürgermeister - or Oberbürgermeister (lord mayor) in most larger cities. Extended and updated March 2017  US local government andmayors of largest cities Government: There are 19,429 municipal governments in the United States. Many small towns use the council-manager system (most counties are run this way) and those that don’t, have a weak mayor-council system. Almost all large US cities have strong mayor systems. Towns with populations of 5,000 or less (varies between states) are not allowed to incorporate and are overseen by the county government. Mayors, and the city council, are directly elected. MORE Polish local governmentand mayors of largest cities Government: Since 1999, Poland has been divided into provinces, counties and municipalities. The country has currently 16 provinces, 379 counties, including 65 cities with county status, and 2,479 communes or municipalities. Some 61 per cent of Poland's population of 38.6 million live in cities. The country's capital Warsaw is home to 1.7 million people, while there are four other cities with populations of more than 500,000. Eleven cities have populations of between 200,000 and half a million. MORE  English local governmentand directly elected mayors 9 May 2016: All but 16 of the 326 councils in England are led by a Council Leader elected by their fellow councillors. Since 2002 a small number, as well as Greater London, have been led by mayors elected directly by local voters. Most of the elected mayors in England have responsibility for all local services, with two district council mayors responsible for only environment, planning and housing. All 17 elected mayors are elected on four year terms by the instant run-off Supplementary Vote. There are no elected mayors in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. View complete update following May 2016 elections Belgian local governmentand mayors of largest cities Government: Municipal governments in Belgium are vigorous political entities with significant powers and a history of independence dating from medieval times. Many national politicians originate from municipal political bases; and many often double as mayor or alderman in their hometowns in addition to their federal and regional political positions. MORE |
 WORLD MAYOR PRIZE 2018 Nominate exceptional women mayors for the World Mayor Prize The 2018 World Mayor Project is dedicated to women in local government. It features the achievements of women mayors from across the world and will honour the best of them. Please nominate your candidate now Women have fought prejudice and struggled for equal rights and opportunities for hundreds of years. They did it with courage and resolve. In the 20th and early 21st centuries, women have achieved success in many spheres previously reserved to or monopolised by men, but their contributions are still often undervalued and their potential not recognised enough. Only some 20 per cent of the world’s mayors are women. The 2018 World Mayor Project aims to encourage more women to consider a career in local government and stand for political office. Please nominate exceptional women mayors for the 2018 World Mayor Prize and honours. |
