Governing Mayor of Berlin
Introduction The '''Governing Mayor''' () of Berlin is the head of government, presiding over the Berlin Senate. As Berlin is an independent city as well as one of the constituent States of Germany (), the office is the equivalent of the Ministers President of the other German states, except the states of Hamburg and Bremen, where the heads of government are called "First Mayor" and "President of the Senate and Mayor", respectively. The title Governing Mayor of Berlin is the equivalent of Lord Mayor in the meaning of an actual executive leader.Seat of the Governing Mayor, the Rotes RathausAccording to the Berlin Constitution, the Governing Mayor is member and head of the Berlin Senate. The ministers are called senators. The two deputies additionally hold the title of Mayor (, historically: burgomaster). The title Mayor is also held by the heads of the twelve boroughs of Berlin, although they do not actually preside over self-governmental municipalities.The Governing Mayor is elected by the city's state parliament, the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin (equivalent to the   of other federal states), which also controls their policy guidelines and is able to enforce resignation by a motion of no confidence. The Governing Mayor is entitled to appoint and release the senators of the government.The seat of the Senate is the city hall, Rotes Rathaus, in Mitte.
History As capital of the Kingdom of Prussia, Berlin received its first Lord Mayor () according to the Prussian reforms after the retreat of the Napoleonic occupation troops in 1809, approved by King Frederick William III. He served as head of the city council called . The two-stage administration and the office of the boroughs' mayors were implemented in the course of the wide-ranging incorporations by the 1920 Greater Berlin Act. The Rathaus Schöneberg was the seat of the Mayor of West Berlin during the Division of Germany.During the Allied occupation after World War II, the city assembly () elected the Social Democratic politician Ernst Reuter as Lord Mayor on 24 June 1947, who, however, did not obtain the affirmation by the Allied Kommandatura of Berlin due to Soviet reservations. Following the Communist putsch in Berlin's city government in September 1948, a separate city parliament (still named ''Stadtverordnetenversammlung von Groß-Berlin'') was set up, however, ''de facto'' only competent for the western occupation sectors of what was to become West Berlin was elected on 5 December 1948, electing two days later a separate city government and Ernst Reuter Lord Mayor for West Berlin. The Soviet administration had officially deposed the previous elected government for all of Berlin with effect only in the eastern sector and had installed the SED Lord Mayor Friedrich Ebert, Jr. in East Berlin already on 30 November 1948.West Berlin Governing Mayor Walter Momper (l.) and East Berlin Lord Mayor Tino Schwierzina, May 1990West Berlin introduced its own constitution (), accounting for the changed facts, with effect of 1 October 1950.This constitution provided for the renaming of the city parliament to "", of the city government into "Senate of Berlin" and the head of government into "Governing Mayor of Berlin". Following the new constitution representatives were elected on 3 December 1950 and the new parliament re-elected Ernst Reuter as head of city government on 18 January 1951, with Reuter then adopting the new title. From 1951 to 1990, during the Cold War, the Governing Mayor was the head of government in West Berlin with his seat at Rathaus Schöneberg, while East Berlin ''de jure'' remained under Soviet occupation and ''de facto'' became a part and capital of the East Germany — not recognized by the NATO members, but actually condoned by the 1971 Four Power Agreement on Berlin and the German Basic Treaty of 1972.The government of West Berlin claimed to be the legitimate government for all of Berlin within the borders established by the 1920 Greater Berlin Act until the Peaceful Revolution of 1989.Even before German reunification on 3 October 1990, the West Berlin Governing Mayor and the East Berlin  held common cabinet meetings, until Berlin-wide elections took place on 2 December 1990.
List ; Governing Mayor of Berlin (1951–present) '''Political party:'''  Portrait NameTerm of officePolitical partyElection Took office Left office Time in office West Berlin (1948–1990) West Berlin was ''de facto'' part of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) '''1''' 100px '''Ernst Reuter''' 1 February 1951 29 September 1953  Social Democratic Party 1950 '''2''' 100px '''Walther Schreiber''' 29 September 1953 11 January 1955  Christian Democratic Union ''1950'' '''3''' 100px '''Otto Suhr''' 11 January 1955 30 August 1957  Social Democratic Party 1954 '''4''' 100px '''Willy Brandt''' 3 October 1957 1 December 1966  Social Democratic Party ''1954''19581963 '''5''' 100px '''Heinrich Albertz''' 1 December 1966 19 October 1967  Social Democratic Party ''1963''1967 '''6''' 100px '''Klaus Schütz''' 19 October 1967 2 May 1977  Social Democratic Party ''1967''19711975 '''7''' 100px '''Dietrich Stobbe''' 2 May 1978 23 January 1981  Social Democratic Party ''1975''1979 '''8''' 100px '''Hans-Jochen Vogel''' 23 January 1981 11 June 1981  Social Democratic Party ''1979'' '''9''' 100px '''Richard von Weizsäcker''' 11 June 1981 9 February 1984  Christian Democratic Union 1981 '''10''' 100px '''Eberhard Diepgen''' 9 February 1984 16 March 1989  Christian Democratic Union 19891985 '''11''' 100px '''Walter Momper''' 16 March 1989 24 January 1991  Social Democratic Party 1989 ''West Berlin was reunited with East Berlin on October 3, 1990 and dissolved.'' Reunified Berlin (1990–present) City-state and capital city of the Federal Republic of Germany  100 px '''Walter Momper''' &'''Tino Schwierzina''' 3 October 1990 24 January 1991  Social Democratic Party 1989 1990  '''12''''''''' 100px '''Eberhard Diepgen''' 24 January 1991 16 June 2001  Christian Democratic Union 199019951999 '''13''' 100px '''Klaus Wowereit''' 16 June 2001 11 December 2014  Social Democratic Party 200120062011 '''14''' 100px '''Michael Müller''' 11 December 2014 21 December 2021  Social Democratic Party ''2011''2016 '''15''' 100px '''Franziska Giffey''' 21 December 2021 27 April 2023  Social Democratic Party 2021 '''16''' 100px '''Kai Wegner''' 27 April 2023 ''Incumbent''  Christian Democratic Union 2023
See also *Politics of Berlin*History of Berlin*Timeline of Berlin*List of people from Berlin*List of mayors of Berlin
Notes and references
External links * Governing Mayor of Berlin