The mayor is vested with the executive and administrative power of the city of Lincoln and is the ceremonial head of its government.

[4][5] To date, Chris Beutler is Lincoln's longest serving mayor, having held the office for 12 years.

[1] Lincoln, Nebraska, was officially incorporated as a town on April 7, 1869, by the commissioners of Lancaster County.

[8][9] Lincoln was later incorporated as a city of the second class by the Legislature of Nebraska on March 18, 1871, which allowed its citizens to directly elect a mayor.

[8] Lincoln continued to elect mayors in April of every year to one-year terms until 1883, when the Nebraska Legislature passed a bill stipulating that the mayors of all second-class cities would be elected to two-year terms on the first Tuesday in April.

In 1912, the Nebraska Legislature amended the state's laws to give cities the option to adopt a "commission" form of government, which Lincoln adopted for its government in a special election in 1912.