The mayor's office is located in Mogadishu City Hall, which was recently renovated after years of abandonment and decay during the Somali Civil War.

The mayor also holds the title of Governor of Benaadir, an administrative region whose territory is coextensive with the city of Mogadishu.

From 1941 to 1949, resulting from World War II, the British occupied the territory and appointed the mayors, who remained Italians.

Angelo de Ruben Ruggiero Santini Carlo De Simone William Eric Halstead Scuphan Denis Henry Widcham Eric Armar Vully de Candole Geoffrey Massey Gamble Since Somalia's independence on 1 July 1960, mayors of Mogadishu have been appointed by the President of Somalia: Sheikh Mukhtar Mohamed Hussein Abdiqasim Salad Hassan Sharif Sheikh Ahmed Hassan Sheikh Mohamud The mayor of Mogadishu is assisted by a vice mayor or deputy mayor.

[8] By 1989, when the United Somali Congress had captured most surrounding towns and villages, this had become a common saying in Somalia, and on 29 September 1990, the British newspaper The Economist used the phrase in reference to Barre.