The title of General Mayor is sometimes used to distinguish the office from that of the mayors that lead each of Bucharest's six administrative sectors, and which are responsible for local area affairs, such as secondary streets, parks, schools and cleaning services.

The office was created on 7 August 1864, when a new French-style local administration law was adopted.

On 6 September 2015, Sorin Oprescu was detained on suspicion of corruption and bribery charges.

[1][2] On 15 September 2015, he was replaced by a general council elected deputy-mayor for the remainder of his term which ended the following year.

[6] On 9 June 2024, Dan was re-elected as Mayor of Bucharest and is expected to begin his new term in October, planning to focus more on the traffic problems of Bucharest, while renewing public transport still remains one of his priorities.