The current office holder is Luigi Brugnaro, a centre-right wing independent businessman who has been in charge since 2015.

Podestà of Venice were appointed since 1806 to 1866 by the rulers of the city during the early- to mid-19th century: Napoleon and the Habsburgs.

Since 1993, the Mayor of Venice has been chosen through direct elections every five years, under new local administration laws: Number of votes for each party: Number of seats in the City Council for each party: The election took place in two rounds: the first on 21 November, the second on 5 December 1993.

These elections were scheduled to take place in June 2020 but then were postponed to 20–21 September 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The office of the Deputy Mayor of Venice was officially created in 1993 with the adoption of the new local administration law.