Burgomaster

In the Netherlands and Belgium, the mayor (Dutch: burgemeester or French: bourgmestre) is an appointed government position, whose main responsibility is chairing the executive and legislative councils of a municipality.

[9] They are members of the council of mayor and aldermen (Dutch: college van burgemeester en wethouders, B&W) and have their own portfolios, always including safety and public order.

However, opponents of the status quo were divided between two alternatives: direct election of the mayor by the people or appointment by the municipal council.

A constitutional change to direct election gained a majority in both chambers but failed to pass the final vote in the Senate in March 2005.

Nowadays, when a vacancy occurs, a special committee of the municipal council interviews (behind closed doors) candidates, which are pre-selected by the provincial governor (the King's Commissioner).

The Burgomaster's Family , possibly painted by Gerard Donck c. 1640
Manneken Pis dressed as a burgomaster from the Seven Noble Houses of Brussels .
Caption of a Bürgermeisteramt from 1505 (burgomaster Erhart Huck of Bozen , South Tyrol)
Arnold von Brauweiler, a German burgomaster, known in German as Bürgermeister
Session of the council of the community Oude IJsselstreek , eastern Netherlands: mayor Steven de Vreeze (right) as chairman of the council.