List of mayors of Berlin

The following is a chronological list of mayors of Berlin, the capital city and city-state of Germany. The mayors are the head of the city-state, part of the senate of Berlin.

List

Napoleonic Empire (1806–1809)

In 1806 the French occupants gathered 2,000 wealthy Berliners in St. Peter's Church, Berlin, in order to elect the Grand conseil (grand council) of sixty members again electing the Comité administratif (administrative committee). This body of seven elected burghers was the provisional city government competent to carry out the orders of the occupation power, especially to raise the French war contributions by levying them mostly from the 2,000 eligible voters. The président of the committee was the Berlin-based Prussian publisher:[1]

PortraitName
(Birth–Death)
Term of officePolitical party
Took officeLeft officeDays
1 François Théodore de Lagarde
(1756–1824)
27 October 18066 July 1809983Unknown

Lord Mayor of the Royal Capital Berlin (1809–1920)

Political party:  Independent  SPD

PortraitName
(Birth–Death)
Term of officePolitical party
Took officeLeft officeDays
Kingdom of Prussia (until 1867)
Berlin was the capital city of the Kingdom of Prussia
1 Leopold von Gerlach
(1757–1813)
6 July 18098 June 18131433Non-partisan
2 Johann Gottfried Büsching
(1761–1833)
February 1814March 18326603Non-partisan
3 Friedrich von Bärensprung
(1779–1841)
March 18326 October 1834949Non-partisan
4 Wilhelm Krausnick
(1797–1882)
6 October 183420 March 18484914Non-partisan
Franz Christian Naunyn
(1799–1860)
Acting
20 March 184823 January 18511039Non-partisan
(4) Wilhelm Krausnick
(1797–1882)
23 January 185130 December 18624359Non-partisan
5 Karl Theodor Seydel
(1812–1873)
12 January 186318 January 18711492Non-partisan
German Empire (1867–1918)
Berlin was the capital city of the Kingdom of Prussia, which is since 1871 part of the German Reich
(5) Karl Theodor Seydel
(1812–1873)
18 January 18711 April 1872439Non-partisan
6 Arthur Hobrecht
(1824–1912)
16 May 18721 April 18782146National Liberal Party
7 Max von Forckenbeck
(1824–1892)
21 November 187826 May 18924935National Liberal Party
8 Robert Zelle
(1829–1901)
26 September 189230 September 18982191Free-minded People's Party
9 Martin Kirschner
(1842–1912)
23 December 189931 August 19124634Non-partisan
10 Adolf Wermuth
(1855–1927)
1 September 19129 November 19182260Non-partisan
Weimar Republic (1918–1933)
(10) Adolf Wermuth
(1855–1927)
9 November 19181 October 1920692Non-partisan

Lord Mayor of (Greater) Berlin (1918–1935)

PortraitName
(Birth–Death)
Term of officePolitical party
Took officeLeft officeDays
Weimar Republic (1918–1933)
Berlin was the capital city of the Weimar Republic
(10) Adolf Wermuth
(1855–1927)
1 October 192030 November 192060Non-partisan
11 Gustav Böß
(1873–1946)
10 February 19217 November 19293192German Democratic Party
Arthur Scholtz
(1871–1935)
Acting
7 November 192920 April 1931692German People's Party
12 Heinrich Sahm
(1877–1939)
20 April 193130 January 1933651Non-partisan
Nazi Germany (1933–1945)
Berlin was the capital city of the Weimar Republic
(12) Heinrich Sahm
(1877–1939)
30 January 193330 January 1935730Non-partisan (until 1933)
Nazi Party (from 1933)

City President of Berlin (1935–1945)

The Nazi government introduced a new unitary municipal ordinance for all German municipalities and cities accounting for the de facto abolition of municipal democracy and autonomy since the Nazi takeover in 1933. According to the new ordinance the administrative head of the city was now titled Stadtpräsident (City President). The Oberbürgermeister remained in a ceremonial role.

Political party:  NSDAP

PortraitName
(Birth–Death)
Term of officePolitical party
Took officeLeft officeDays
Nazi Germany (1933–1945)
Berlin was the capital city of Nazi Germany
(12) Heinrich Sahm
(1877–1939)
30 January 193518 December 1935322Nazi Party
Oskar Maretzky [de]
(1881–1945)
Acting
19 December 19355 January 1937383Nazi Party
(Not party-member)
13 Julius Lippert
(1895–1956)
5 January 19371 July 19401273Nazi Party
14 Ludwig Steeg
(1894–1945)
1 July 19402 May 19451766Nazi Party

Lord Mayor of Greater Berlin under Allied occupation (1945–1948)

Following Berlin's provisional post-war constitution, enacted under quadripartite Allied rule, the head of city government was titled again Oberbürgermeister (generally "Lord Mayor").

Political party:  IND  SPD  CDU

PortraitName
(Birth–Death)
Term of officePolitical party
Took officeLeft officeDays
Berlin under quadripartite Allied control (1945–1948)
15 Arthur Werner
(1877–1967)
17 May 194510 December 1946572Non-partisan
16 Otto Ostrowski
(1883–1963)
10 December 194611 June 1947183Social Democratic Party
Louise Schroeder
(1887–1957)
Acting[a]
11 June 194714 August 1948430Social Democratic Party
Ferdinand Friedensburg
(1886–1972)
Acting for Schroeder[b]
14 August 19481 December 1948109Christian Democratic Union
Louise Schroeder
(1887–1957)
Acting
1 December 19487 December 19486Social Democratic Party
17 Ernst Reuter
(1889–1953)
(West Berlin only)
7 December 19481 February 1951786Social Democratic Party

Lord Mayor of Berlin (1948–1990)

Political party:  SED  PDS  SPD

PortraitName
(Birth–Death)
Term of officePolitical party
Took officeLeft officeDays
East Berlin (1948–1949)
East Berlin was under Soviet occupation and was fully controlled by them from November 1948 until the founding of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).
1 Friedrich Ebert Jr.
(1894–1979)
30 November 19487 October 1949311Socialist Unity Party
East Berlin (1948–1990)
East Berlin was de facto the capital city of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany)
(1) Friedrich Ebert Jr.
(1894–1979)
7 October 19495 July 19676480Socialist Unity Party
2 Herbert Fechner
(1913–1998)
5 July 196711 February 19742413Socialist Unity Party
3 Erhard Krack
(1931–2000)
11 February 197415 February 19905848Socialist Unity Party
Ingrid Pankraz
(born 1948)
Acting
15 February 199023 February 19908Party of Democratic Socialism
4 Christian Hartenhauer [de]
(born 1948)
23 February 199030 May 199096Party of Democratic Socialism
5 Tino Schwierzina
(1927–2003)
30 May 19903 October 1990126Social Democratic Party in the GDR
East Berlin was reunited with West Berlin on October 3, 1990 and dissolved.

Governing Mayor of Berlin (1951–present)

Political party:  SPD  CDU

PortraitName
(Birth–Death)
Term of officePolitical party
Took officeLeft officeDays
West Berlin (1948–1990)
West Berlin was de facto part of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany)
1 Ernst Reuter
(1889–1953)
1 February 195129 September 1953971Social Democratic Party
2 Walther Schreiber
(1884–1958)
29 September 195311 January 1955469Christian Democratic Union
3 Otto Suhr
(1955–1957)
11 January 195530 August 1957
(died in office)
962Social Democratic Party
4 Willy Brandt
(1913–1992)
3 October 19571 December 19663346Social Democratic Party
5 Heinrich Albertz
(1915–1993)
1 December 196619 October 1967322Social Democratic Party
6 Klaus Schütz
(1926–2012)
19 October 19672 May 19773483Social Democratic Party
7 Dietrich Stobbe
(1938–2011)
2 May 197823 January 19811362Social Democratic Party
8 Hans-Jochen Vogel
(1926–2020)
23 January 198111 June 1981139Social Democratic Party
9 Richard von Weizsäcker
(1920–2015)
11 June 19819 February 1984973Christian Democratic Union
10 Eberhard Diepgen
(born 1941)
9 February 198416 March 19891862Christian Democratic Union
11 Walter Momper
(born 1945)
16 March 198924 January 1991565Social Democratic Party
West Berlin was reunited with East Berlin on October 3, 1990 and dissolved.
Reunified Berlin (1990–present)
City-state and capital city of the Federal Republic of Germany
Walter Momper
(born 1945) &
Tino Schwierzina[2]
(1927–2003)
3 October 199024 January 1991113Social Democratic Party
12
(10)
Eberhard Diepgen
(born 1941)
24 January 199116 June 20013796Christian Democratic Union
13 Klaus Wowereit
(born 1953)
16 June 200111 December 20144926Social Democratic Party
14 Michael Müller
(born 1964)
11 December 201421 December 20212567Social Democratic Party
15 Franziska Giffey
(born 1978)
21 December 2021[3]27 April 2023492Social Democratic Party
16 Kai Wegner
(born 1972)
27 April 2023Incumbent439Christian Democratic Union

Notes

References