Die Entwicklung des Berufsbilds der Bürgermeisterin / des Bürgermeisters in Deutschland, am Beispiel von Baden-Württemberg

Abstract

The paper in a complex manner analyses the institute of a municipality’s mayor in Germany and
the evolution of the mayor’s status in German society. The institute of a mayor and its status together
with changes of the latter in modern Germany, especially in the Land of Baden-Württemberg, are discussed
on the basis of professional portrait of a mayor and giving the assessment of the specifics of
the portrait in the context of current processes of the local governance system improvement and political
change. The main questions, which receive the priority attention, are: 1) role of municipality’s
mayor in contemporary Germany; 2) direct election of a mayor and elections in the municipality
council; 3) dependence to a party, circumstances for cooperation with political parties, political selfdependence
and loyalty and tolerance to different political attitudes; gender issues, typical for
mayor’s institute. The article provides material from a survey, which was aimed to construct a
mayor’s portrait and to assess its changes. The article can be relevant and important to those readers,
who are interested in organization of modern local governance and German experience in local governance
improvement.