Mayor

A mayor (Latin major "better") is the chief executive official of a city, town, or village. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs as to the powers and responsibilities of a mayor, as well as the means of becoming mayor.

The French form of the word is maire. In Germany the corresponding title is Burgermeister, in Italy sindaco, in Bohemia starosta and in Spain, a term derived from a Moorish post, alcalde.

In the United States, mayors are usually elected by the citizens of a locality for a fixed term. They generally share power with a local legislative body, such as a city council.

In several other countries, mayors are often appointed by some branch of the federal or regional government. In Salt Lake County in the U.S. state of Utah there is a county mayor. Additionally, the chief executives of all counties in Tennessee and Hawaii are referred to as "mayors". However, these persons are elected, not appointed, to that office.

In some cities, subdivisions such as arrondissements or boroughs may have their own mayors.

"Mayor" was not a Roman office. It came into use in the large entourages that followed the barbarian leaders who succeeded to the power of the Emperor of the West. The male officer who governed a king or duke's peripatetic household was the major domus, the "major domo" . In the households of the Merovingian Frankish kings, the major domus, or praefectus palatii ("prefect of the palace"), gained such power that, in the person of Pippin of Herstal, he ended by evicting his master. He was the " mayor of the palace "

In London, the Lord Mayor of London is now largely ceremonial, a post that should be distinguished from the elected Mayor of London. Thirty other cities in the United Kingdom have Lord Mayors, or, in Scotland, Lord Provosts.