The

mayor of Los Angeles The mayor of Los Angeles is the head of the executive branch of the government of Los Angeles and the chief executive of Los Angeles. The office is officially Non-partisan democracy, nonpartisan, a change made in the 1909 charter; previously, ...

is the chief executive of the

Government of Los Angeles The government of the City of Los Angeles operates as a charter city (as opposed to a general law city) under the charter of the City of Los Angeles. The List of elected officials in Los Angeles, elected government is composed of the Los An ...

as set in the city charter. The current officeholder, the 43rd in the sequence of regular mayors, is

Karen Bass Karen Ruth Bass (; born October 3, 1953) is an American politician who has served as the 43rd mayor of Los Angeles since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Bass previously served in the United States House ...

, a member of the Democratic Party, though the office has been

nonpartisan Nonpartisan or non-partisan may refer to: __NOTOC__ General political concepts * Nonpartisanship, also known as Nonpartisanism, co-operation without reference to political parties * Non-partisan democracy, an election with no official recognition ...

since 1909. When Los Angeles was founded as a small town, a ''comisionado'' (Military Commissioner) was appointed before the title was changed to ''

alcalde ''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...

'' (Mayor) in 1786. Between 1841 and 1844, there were two mayors called the ''Jueces de Paz'' ( Justices of Peace). When the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

took control, the office was renamed to Mayor. The longest serving mayors have been Tom Bradley (1973–1993; 20 years),

Fletcher Bowron Fletcher Bowron (August 13, 1887 – September 11, 1968) was an American lawyer, judge, and politician. He was the 35th Mayor of Los Angeles from 1938 to 1953. A member of the Republican Party, he was at the time the city's longest-serving mayor ...

(1938–1953; 14 years),

Sam Yorty Samuel William Yorty (October 1, 1909 – June 5, 1998) was an American politician, attorney, and radio host from Los Angeles, California. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and the California State Assembly, ...

(1961–1973; 12 years), and

Eric Garcetti Eric Michael Garcetti (born February 4, 1971) is an American politician and diplomat who served as the List of ambassadors of the United States to India, United States ambassador to India from 2023 to 2025. He was the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles f ...

(2013–2022; 9 years). The shortest tenures, not counting Acting Mayors, were

John Bryson John Edgar Bryson (July 24, 1943 – May 13, 2025) was an American businessman, lawyer, and politician. He served as United States Secretary of Commerce from 2011 until 2012, the 37th person to hold the post since its establishment in 1913. He ...

(77 days), Bernard Cohn (14 days), and William Stephens (11 days). Although the President of the Los Angeles City Council serves as acting mayor when the Mayor is out of the city, only five have served due to a vacancy: Manuel Requena (1855 and 1856), Wallace Woodworth (1860–1861), Bernard Cohn (1878),

Niles Pease Niles Pease (1838–1921) was a Los Angeles, California, businessman who was president of the Merchants' and Manufacturers' Association in 1903–05 and of the City Council in 1907–10. Life and career Pease was born in Enfield, Connecticut ...

(1909), and Martin F. Betkouski (1916); only one, Cohn, ascended from Acting Mayor to Mayor. Two Mayors have died during their terms: Henry Mellus and Frederick A. MacDougall. Los Angeles has had five Latino mayors post-incorporation: Antonio F. Coronel, Manuel Requena, Cristobal Aguilar,

Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa (; né Villar Jr. on January 23, 1953) is an American politician who served as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Villaraigosa was a national co-chairman of Hillary C ...

, and

. The city has also had two African-American mayors, Tom Bradley and

. Two French-Canadian politicians, Damien Marchesseault and Prudent Beaudry, have served as Mayors. The first woman to serve as Mayor is

, who was elected in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Spanish era (1781–1821)

The office of ''

Alcalde ''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...

'', the Mayor of El Pueblo de la Reina de los Ángeles, was elected annually, without the right to reelection for two years. With the incomplete nature of records from the Spanish colonial period of Los Angeles, only the first year of 1781 is certain. ;''Comisionado'' ;''Alcalde'' ;Notes

Mexican era (1821–1848)

In 1821, Los Angeles came under Mexican rule, and the city continued having an ''alcalde''. The inaugural holder was

Abel Stearns Abel Stearns (February 9, 1798 – August 23, 1871) was an American trader who came to the Pueblo de Los Angeles, Alta California in 1829 and became a major landowner and cattle rancher and one of the area's wealthiest citizens. Early life Stea ...

, an American trader who came to California in 1829 from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. ;First & Second ''Alcalde'' In 1839, instead of one ''alcalde'', two officials served as First and Second ''Alcalde''. ;''Jueces de Paz'' (Justices of Peace) In 1841, the office of ''alcalde'' was abolished, instead being replaced by two ''Jueces de Paz'' ( Justice of the peace). ;First & Second ''Alcalde'' In 1844, the office of ''alcalde'' was restored, reverting to its 1839 posts.

American Territorial era (1848–1850)

Between the Interim government of California and California's statehood, the Mayor was appointed by the

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constit ...

in 1848 and was elected in 1850. ;Notes

Post-incorporation (1850–present)

; Notes

Appendices

Mayoral terms and term limits

At the office's creation in 1850, mayors served one year terms. In 1889, the dates were changed to be on even-numbered years, with the term extending to two years per term; the first election in an even-numbered year was in 1892. In 1909, the city charter changed the election years to odd-numbered years with the March 1909 election, originally slated to be a

recall election A recall election (also called a recall referendum, recall petition or representative recall) is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office through a referendum before that official's term of office has ended. Recalls ...

against Arthur C. Harper. In 1993, voters amended the city charter to implement term limits to elected officials, including mayor. In 2015, voters passed a charter amendment that would change the election dates to align with gubernatorial and presidential elections on even-numbered years; the first mayoral election after this change was in

Interrupted terms

Eight mayors have had interrupted terms: Stephen Clark Foster (1855 and 1856), Henry Mellus (1860), Cristobal Aguilar (1867), Frederick A. MacDougall (1878),

(1889), Arthur C. Harper (1909), Charles E. Sebastian (1916), and

Frank L. Shaw Frank Lawrence Shaw (February 1, 1877 – January 24, 1958) was the first mayor of a major American city to be recalled from office, in 1938. He was also a member of the Los Angeles City Council and then the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisor ...

(1938).

References

External links

Office of Mayor website

City of Los Angeles Officials Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayors of Los Angeles

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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