Burgomaster (alternatively spelled Burgomeister, literally translated meaning master of the town) is the English form, rendering various terms in or derived from the German language word for the chief magistrate and/or chairman of the executive council of a sub-national level of administration (Bürgermeister) All contemporary titles are commonly translated into English with the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of Town Mayor. The word meister originally means "master" in German (as in Master craftsman or as an honorific title such as Meister Eckhart; akin The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Chief Magistrate is a generic designation for a public official whose office -- individual or collegial -- is the highest in his or her class in either of the fundamental meanings of A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning "greater" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government

Municipal government

• Bürgermeister, in German: in Germany, Austria, and formerly in Switzerland. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation In Switzerland, the title was abolished mid-19th century; various current titles for roughly equivalent offices include Gemeindepräsident, Stadtpräsident, Gemeindeamtmann, and Stadtamtmann. Gemeinde is the German word for commune or Municipality. Die Gemeinde (feminine noun singular also means approximately the parish or the community
• In an important city, especially in a city state (Stadtstaat), where one of the Bürgermeister has a rank equivalent to that of a minister-president, there can be several posts called Bürgermeister in the city's executive college, justifying the use of a compound title for the actual highest Magistrate (also rendered as Lord Mayor), such as:
  • Regierender Bürgermeister (literally 'Governing Burgomaster' commonly translated as 'Lord Mayor') in Berlin
  • Erster Bürgermeister (literally 'First Burgomaster') in Hamburg
  • Bürgermeister und Präsident des Senats ('Burgomaster and President of the Senate') in Bremen
  • Oberbürgermeister ('Supreme Burgomaster') is the most common version. A minister-president (Ministerpräsident is the Head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments who presides over the council of ministers The Lord Mayor is the title of the Mayor of a major city with special recognition Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Hamburg (English, German: ˈhambʊɐk local pronunciation Low German / Low Saxon: Hamborg) is the second-largest city in Germany The Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (German Freie Hansestadt Bremen) is the smallest of Germany's 16 Federal States ( Bundesländer) The Ober- prefix is used in many ranking systems for the next level including military designations.
  • Präsidierender Bürgermeister ('Presidential Burgomaster') is an obsolete formulation sometimes found in historic texts.
• Borgmester (Danish)
• Borgomastro o Sindaco-Borgomastro (Italian): in few communes of Lombardy
• Burgemeester in Dutch: Belgium (also Bourgmestre in French; a party-political post, though formally nominated by the regional government and answerable to it, the federal state and even the province) and in The Netherlands nominated by the municipal council but appointed by the crown. Danish ( d̥ænsɡ̊ is one of the North Germanic languages (also called Scandinavian languages a sub-group of the Germanic branch of the Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. Lombardy (Lombardia Latin: Langobardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardìa, Eastern Lombard: Lombardia) is one of the Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those In theory above the parties, in practice a high profile party-political post.
• Bourgmestre (French) in Belgium and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Burmistras (Lithuanian), derived from German. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Territorial Organisation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Reference: Executive Order 081 of July 8 1998 on administrative and territorial organisation in the RDC Lithuanian ( lietuvių kalba) is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognised as one of the official languages of the European Union.
• Buergermeeschter (Luxembourgish)
• Polgármester (Hungarian), derived from German. Luxembourgish (lb Lëtzebuergesch Luxembourgeois Luxemburgisch Luxemburgs Lussimbordjwès also called Luxembourgian, also spelled Luxemburgish, is one of Hungarian ( magyar nyelv) is a Uralic language (more specifically a Ugric language) unrelated to most other languages in Europe.
• Posadnik (Old Church Slavic) Russian local title (Novgorod)
• Burmistrz (Polish), a mayoral title, derived from German. Polish ( język polski, polszczyzna) is the Official language of Poland. A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning "greater" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government The German form Oberbürgermeister ('Supreme Burgomaster') ist often translated as Nadburmistrz.
• Borgmästare, kommunalborgmästare (Swedish); the title is not used in Sweden in present times, the closest equivalent being kommunalråd (often translated to English as Municipal commissioner) or borgarråd (only in Stockholm City). Swedish ( is a North Germanic language spoken by more than nine million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the Municipal Commissioner (kommunalråd is an office and political title in the Municipalities of Sweden for councillors with executive responsibilities Stockholm Municipality ( Stockholms kommun or Stockholms stad) is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden.
• Boargemaster (West Frisian)

Compound title at supra-municipal level

• Amtsbürgermeister (German; roughly translated: 'District Burgomaster') can be used for the Chief Magistrate of a Swiss constitutive Canton, as in Aargau 1815-1831 (next styled Landamman)

Sources and references

• WorldStatesmen- here Switzerland, see also other present countries