Jever () is the capital of the district of Friesland in Lower Saxony, Germany. The name Jever is usually associated with a major brand of beer, Jever Pilsener, which is produced there. The city is also a popular holiday resort. Jever was granted city status in 1536. Unofficially Jever is sometimes referred to as Marienstadt (Maria city) in reference to Maria of Jever, the last independent ruler of the city. The inhabitants of Jever are named Jeveraner ("Jeverans"). Politics City Council The Jever City Council consists of 30 members—the fixed number for a town with a population of between 12,001 and 15,000 inhabitants. The 30 councillors are elected by local elections for a five-year term. The current term of office began on 1 November 2016 and ends on 31 October 2021. The full-time mayor Jan Edo Albers (Independent) is also entitled to vote in the city council. The results of the last local elections, on 11 September 2016, are as follows. Deviations from the results of the local elections of 11 September 2011 are indicated in the third column. Social Voter Group of Jever and Friesland, a voter group The voter turnout in the 2016 local elections was 56.19%, slightly above the Lower Saxony average of 55.5%. For comparison, the voter turnout was 53.43% in the previous local elections on 11 September 2011. Mayors and town councillors Since 12 November 2013, the Jever City Council has been headed by Mayor Jan Edo Albers (Independent). At the mayoral election on 6 October 2013, this jurist and former lawyer was elected full-time mayor. He won the run-off elections with 51.11%, narrowly beating the Independent candidate Dietmar Rüstmann with 48.88%. The turnout was 56.02%, compared with 74.75% in the first round of voting. List of mayors of Jever Mayors before 1945 1919-1935: Georg Müller-Jürgens 1935-1945: Martin Folkerts Voluntary mayors after World War II May 1945-July 1945: Christel Matthias Schröder; Schröder was a Protestant pastor who was appointed to the mayor's office by the British occupying power. July 1945-December 1945: Erich Kampf; appointed city director in Jever with the start of the twin-track administrative system 1945-1946: Hermann Klüsener 1946-1949: Alfred Onnen; elected to the German Bundestag in the federal elections on 14 August 1949 1949-1952: Hans Busch 1952-1961: Johann Albers; FDP politician in numerous functions (including district administrator of the Friesland district, member of the Lower Saxony state parliament, minister) 1961-1972: Ommo Ommen 1972-1975: