In India, every Municipal Corporation in India is administratively headed by a Municipal Commissioner, who is the de facto head of the municipal corporation, the form of government which is usually granted to a city of more than one million in population.
The commissioner is the chief administrative officer and is the highest ranking non-elected officer of the municipality and in most cases be an officer of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service on secondment.
In the absence of the mayor, the municipal commissioner serves as the chief executive of the municipality and between the end of term of a mayor and election of a new mayor, the municipal commissioner would serve as the officer implementing the powers and function of the municipal council.
The common seal of the council is retained by the municipal commissioner.
[1] Swedish municipalities generally employ one or more politicians as Municipal Commissioners, (Swedish: kommunalråd) one of which is usually the chairman of the executive committee.