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 The term ''mayor'' shares a linguistic origin with the military rank of ''[[Major]]'', both ultimately derived from French {{Lang|fr|majeur}}.
+==History==
+===British Isles===
+{{anchor|England|Scotland|Wales}}{{See also|Mayors in England|Mayors in Wales}}
+In modern [[England]] and [[Wales]], the position of mayor descends from the feudal lord's [[bailiff]] or [[Reeve (England)|reeve]] (''see [[borough]]''). The [[chief magistrate]] of [[London]] bore the title of [[portreeve]] for considerably more than a century after the [[Norman Conquest]]. This official was elected by popular choice, a privilege secured from [[John, King of England|King John]]. By the beginning of the 12th century, the title of portreeve gave way to that of mayor as the designation of the chief officer of London, followed around 1190 by that of [[Winchester]]. Other boroughs adopted the title later.
+In the 19th century, in the [[United Kingdom]], the [[Municipal Corporations Act 1882]], Section 15, regulated the election of mayors. The mayor was to be a fit person elected annually on 9&nbsp; November by the council of the borough from among the aldermen or councilors or persons qualified to be such. His term of office was one year, but he was eligible for re-election. He might appoint a deputy to act during illness or absence, and such deputy must be either an alderman or councilor. A mayor who was absent from the borough for more than two months became disqualified and had to vacate his office. A mayor was ''ex officio'' a [[justice of the peace]] for the borough during his year of office and the following year. He received such remuneration as the council thought reasonable. These provisions have now been repealed.
+In medieval Wales, the [[Laws of Hywel Dda]] codified the [[maer (office)|mayor]] ([[Medieval Latin|Latin]]: ''{{lang|la|maior}}''; [[Welsh language|Welsh]]: ''{{lang|cy|maer}}'') as a position at the [[Welsh kingdoms|royal courts]] charged with administering the serfs of the [[demesne|king's lands]]. To maintain its dependence on and loyalty to the Crown, the position was forbidden to the leaders of the clan groups.<ref name="HyDda">[[Wade-Evans, Arthur]].
+Page:Welsh Medieval Law.djvu/447|Welsh Medieval Law]]''. Oxford Univ., 1909. Accessed 1 February 2013.</ref> A separate mayor, known as the "cow dung mayor"<!--seriously. see source.--> ({{Lang|cy|maer biswail}}), was charged with overseeing the royal cattle.<ref name=HyDda/> There were similar offices at the Scottish and Irish courts.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}}
+The office of [[mayors and provosts in the United Kingdom|mayor]] in most modern English and Welsh boroughs and towns did not in the 20th century entail any important administrative duties and was generally regarded as an honor conferred for local distinction, long service on the council, or for past services. The mayor was expected to devote much of his (or her) time to civic, ceremonial, and representational functions, and to preside over meetings for the advancement of the public welfare. His or her administrative duties were to act as returning officer at parliamentary elections, and as chairman of the meetings of the council.
+However, since [[Local Government Act 2000|reforms]] introduced in 2000, fifteen English local authorities have [[Elected mayors in the United Kingdom|directly elected mayors]] who combine the "civic" mayor role with that of [[leader of the council]] and have significantly greater powers than either.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn05000/|title=Directly-elected mayors|website=www.commonslibrary.parliament.uk|access-date= 14 December 2020}}</ref> The mayor of a [[town council]] is officially known as "town mayor" (although in popular parlance, the word ''town'' is often dropped). The person is known as "mayor" regardless of gender; the partner of a mayor is sometimes known as the "mayoress". Mayors are not appointed to district councils that do not have [[Borough status in the United Kingdom|borough status]]. 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.
+Some cities in England have a [[Lord mayor]].
+In [[Scotland]] the post holders are known as convenors, [[provost (civil)|provost]]s, or lord provosts depending on the local authority.
+===Continental Europe===
+{{main|Mayor of the Palace|podestà}}
+The original [[Franks|Frankish]] mayors or majordomos were {{ndash}} like the Welsh {{Lang|cy|meiri}} {{ndash}} lords commanding the king's lands around the [[Merovingians|Merovingian]] courts in [[Austrasia]], [[kingdom of Burgundy|Burgundy]], and [[Neustria]]. The mayorship of Paris eventually became hereditary in the [[Pippinids]], who later established the [[Carolingian dynasty]].
+In modern [[France]], since the [[French Revolution|Revolution]], a mayor ({{Lang|fr|maire}}) and a number of mayoral adjuncts ({{Lang|fr|adjoints au maire}}) are selected by the municipal council from among their number. Most of the administrative work is left in their hands, with the full council meeting comparatively infrequently. The model was copied throughout Europe in Britain's mayors, Italy's [[sindaco]]s, most of the German states' [[burgomaster]]s, and Portugal's [[President of the Municipal Chamber|presidents of the municipal chambers]].
+In [[Medieval Italy]], the [[Italian city-states|city-states]] who did not consider themselves independent principalities or dukedoms {{ndash}} particularly those of the Imperial [[Ghibelline]] faction {{ndash}} were led by [[podestà]]s.
+The [[Greece|Greek]] equivalent of a mayor is the [[demarch]] ({{lang-el|δήμαρχος|3=[[archon]] of the [[deme]]}}).
+====Scandinavia====
+In [[Denmark]] all [[Municipalities of Denmark|municipalities]] are led by a political official called ''[[Burgomaster|borgmester]]'', 'mayor'. The mayor of [[Copenhagen]] is however called ''[[List of mayors of Copenhagen|overborgmester]]'' 'lord mayor'. In that city other mayors, {{Lang|da|borgmestre}} (plural), are subordinate to the lord mayor with different undertakings, like ministers to a prime minister. In other municipalities in Denmark there is only a single mayor.
+[[File:1389-09-04, brev Iserlohn.jpg|thumb|Document of 1389 on the election of the [[Mayor of Stockholm]]]]
+In [[Norway]] and [[Sweden]] the mayoral title {{Lang|no|borgermester}}''/''{{Lang|sv|borgmästare}} has now been abolished. Norway abolished it in 1937 as a title of the non-political top manager of (city) municipalities and replaced it with the title {{Lang|no|rådmann}} ('[[alderman]]' or '[[magistrate]]'), which is still in use when referring to the top managers of the [[municipalities of Norway]]. The top ''elected'' official of the municipalities of Norway, on the other hand, has the title {{Lang|no|ordfører}}, which actually means 'word-bearer', i.e. 'chairperson' or 'president', an equivalent to the Swedish word ''[[:wikt:ordförande|ordförande]]''.
+In [[Sweden]] {{Lang|sv|borgmästare}} was a title of the senior judge of the courts of the cities, courts which were called {{Lang|sv|rådhusrätt}}, literally 'town hall court', somewhat of an equivalent to an English [[Magistrates' Court (England and Wales)|magistrates' court]]. These courts were abolished in 1971. Until 1965, these mayor judges on historical grounds also performed administrative functions in the board of magistrates, in Swedish known collegially{{clarify|date=April 2017}} as {{Lang|sv|magistrat}}. Until 1965 there were also municipal mayors ({{Lang|sv|kommunalborgmästare}}), who had these non-political administrative roles in smaller cities without a magistrates' court or {{Lang|sv|magistrat}}. This office was an invention of the 20th century as the smaller cities in Sweden during the first half of the 20th century subsequently lost their own courts and magistrates.
+[[File:Arthur-Castren.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Arthur Castrén]] (1866–1946), the [[Mayor of Helsinki]], in 1930s]]
+In the 16th century in Sweden, king [[Gustav Vasa]] considerably centralised government and appointed the mayors directly. In 1693 king [[Charles XI]] accepted a compromise after repeated petitions from the Estate of the Burgesses over decades against the royal mayor appointments. The compromise was that the burgesses in a city could normally nominate a mayor under the supervision of the local governor. The nominee was then to be presented to and appointed by the king, but the king could appoint mayors directly in exceptional cases. This was codified in the [[Instrument of Government]] of 1720 and on 8 July the same year [[Privy Council of Sweden|Riksrådet ("the Council of the Realm")]] decided, after a petition from the said Estate, that only the city could present nominees, not the king or anyone else. Thus the supervision of the local governor and directly appointed mayors by the king ceased after 1720 (the so-called [[Age of Liberty]]). On 16 October 1723, it was decided after a petition that the city should present three nominees, of whom the king (or the Council of the Realm) appointed one.<ref name="NF">[http://runeberg.org/nfbc/0637.html The article ''Borgmästare'' (in Swedish)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605184600/http://runeberg.org/nfbc/0637.html |date=5 June 2013 }} in [[Nordisk Familjebok]].</ref> This was kept as a rule from then on in all later regulations<ref name=NF/> and was also kept as a tradition in the [[Instrument of Government (1809)|1809 Instrument of Government]] ([http://sv.wikisource.org/wiki/Regeringsform_1809#.C2.A731. § 31]) until 1965.
+In [[Finland]], there are two mayors, in [[Tampere]] and [[Pirkkala]]. Usually in Finland the highest executive official is not democratically elected, but is appointed to a public office by the city council, and is called simply {{Lang|fi|kaupunginjohtaja}} 'city manager' or {{Lang|fi|kunnanjohtaja}} 'municipal manager', depending on whether the municipality defines itself as a city. The term {{Lang|fi|pormestari}} 'mayor', from Swedish {{Lang|sv|borgmästare}} confusingly on historical grounds has referred to the highest official in the registry office and in the city courts (abolished in 1993) as in Sweden, not the city manager. In addition, {{Lang|fi|pormestari}} is also an honorary title, which may be given for distinguished service in the post of the city manager. The city manager of Helsinki is called {{Lang|fi|ylipormestari}}, which translates to 'chief mayor', for historical reasons. Furthermore, the term ''city manager'' may be seen translated as ''mayor''.
+====Spain====
+The office of the ''[[Alcalde]]'' evolved during the [[Reconquista]] as new lands were settled by the expanding kingdoms of [[Kingdom of León|León]] and [[Kingdom of Castile|Castile]]. As fortified settlements in the area between the [[Douro]] and [[Tagus]] rivers became true urban centers, they gained, from their [[Feudalism|feudal lords]] or the kings of Leon and Castile, the right to have councils. Among the rights that these councils had was to elect a municipal judge ({{Lang|la|iudex}} in [[Medieval Latin|Latin]] and {{Lang|es|juez}} in Spanish). These judges were assisted in their duties by various assistant judges, called {{Lang|es|alcaldes}}, whose number depended on the number of parishes the town had.<ref>O'Callaghan, ''A History of Medieval Spain'', 269-271.</ref> The title {{Lang|es|alcalde}} was [[Loanword|borrowed]] from the Arabic ''[[qadi|al-qaḍi]]'' ({{Lang|ar|قاضي}}), meaning 'the judge'.<ref>The second L in ''alcalde'' evolved from the [[Spanish language|Castilian]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] attempts at pronouncing the [[emphatic consonant]] [[ḍād]]. The old Portuguese [[cognate]] ''alcalde'' was never applied to the presiding municipal officer and retained its original meaning of "judge." "Alcalde" in Corominas, ''Diccionario crítico'', Vol. A-CA (1), 127.</ref>
+The word {{Lang|es|alcalde}} originally was used for simple judges, as in [[Andalusian Arabic]]. Only later was it applied to the presiding municipal magistrate.<ref>Corominas, "Alcalde", 127.</ref> This early use continued to be reflected in its other uses, such as {{Lang|es|alcaldes del crimen}}, the judges in the ''[[Audiencia Real|audiencia]]s''; {{Lang|es|Alcaldes de la Casa y Corte de Su Majestad}}, who formed the highest tribunal in Castile and also managed the royal court; {{Lang|es|alcaldes mayores}}, a synonym for [[Corregidor (position)|''corregidor'']]; and {{Lang|es|alcaldes de barrio}}, who were roughly the equivalent of British [[parish constable]]s.  Because of this, the municipal {{Lang|es|alcalde}} was often referred to as an {{Lang|es|alcalde ordinario}}.
 == References ==