Podestà, 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. rettori ("rectors").
The Palace of the Podestà in Florence, now the Bargello museum
Portrait of a Podestà by Lodewijk Toeput
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 municipal managers and employees, provide basic governmental services to constituents, and execute the laws and ordinances passed by a municipal governing body. Options for selection of a mayor include direct election by the public, or selection by an elected governing council or board.
Document of 1389 on the election of the Mayor of Stockholm
Arthur Castrén (1866–1946), the Mayor of Helsinki, in the 1930s
Jeffery Schielke has been Mayor of Batavia, Illinois for over 40 years