Heads of local government

In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as the means by which a mayor is elected or otherwise mandated. Depending on the system chosen, a mayor may be the chief executive officer of the municipal government, may simply chair a multi-member governing body with little or no independent power, or may play a solely ceremonial role. A mayor's duties and responsibilities may be to appoint and oversee

thumb|235px|The Palace of the in Florence, now the [[Bargello museum]] ' (), also potestate or podesta' in English, was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of central and northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a city-state, the counterpart to similar positions in other cities that went by other names, e.g. ('rectors').

thumb|right|The Burggraf von Regensburg|Burgrave of Regensburg presiding over a [[trial, early 14th-century illustration in the Codex Manesse.]]

250px|thumb|''The Burgomaster's Family, possibly painted by Gerard Donck thumb|250px|Manneken Pis'' dressed as a burgomaster from the [[Seven Noble Houses of Brussels.]]

Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: старост/а, Latin: capitaneus, ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands.

magistrate of Rome

Sovereign is a title that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'.

A prévôt () was a governmental position of varying importance during the Ancien Régime in France. Typically referred to a civil officer, magistrate, head of cathedral or church, it is often anglicised as provost. A unit of justice or court overseen by a prévôt was known as a ''''.

thumb|A Schultheiß in the 16th century

thumb|"Muhtasib weighs the bread", from the Rålamb Costume Book, 1657 A muḥtasib (, from the root ḥisbah, or "accountability") was "a holder of the office of al-hisbah in classical Islamic administrations", according to Oxford Islamic Studies. Also called ‘amil al-suq or sahib al-suq, the muḥtasib was a supervisor of bazaars and trade, the inspector of public places and behavior in towns in the medieval Islamic countries, appointed by the sultan, imam, or other political authority. His duty was to ensure that public business was conducted in accordance with the law of sharia.

thumb|Mayan from Guatemala, 1891|alt=Two sitting men and one standing man. All wear a haedscarf and a hat and a stick in their hands. Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An alcalde was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian cabildo (the municipal council) and judge of first instance of a town. Alcaldes were elected annually, without the right to reelection for two or three years, by the regidores (council members) of the municipal council. The office of the alcalde was signified by a

official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a council-manager form of city government

The mukhtar (; ; ) was a civilian administrator, a type of lesser mayor, in villages and neighbourhoods in the Ottoman Empire. The office was retained in the local administration of the Republic of Turkey as a village or neighbourhood mayor. It also exists in modern Lebanon as an elected local official, and in Gaza as a honorific for clan elders.

A wójt is the highest administrative officer of a Polish rural gmina, i.e., of a commune (gmina) comprising only villages. (The head of a town or city is called, respectively, the burmistrz or "president".)

prefect or commander of the vigiles

local government official in various countries