The Mayor of Vilnius, officially the Mayor of the municipality of the city of Vilnius (

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...

: ''"Vilniaus miesto savivaldybės meras"'') is the head of the

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

n municipality of the city of

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

. The current incumbent is

Valdas Benkunskas Valdas Benkunskas (born 1 November 1984) is a Lithuanian politician. Mayor of Vilnius since 26 April, 2023. Biography In 2003 he graduated from the Vydūnas Junior High School in Šilutė, and in 2009 he got a degree at the Faculty of Law at ...

, following the 2023 Vilnius mayor elections.

Overview

The legislative and local executive powers are exercised by the municipality council (

: ''savivaldybės taryba'') and the directly elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

. The mayor is both a member and the chairman of the municipality's council. The mayor also proposes candidates to his deputies, the director of municipality administration, and the director's deputies.

History

The mayor's institution was established in 1990 and it replaced the city's executive committee chairman. From 1990 to 2015 the mayor had been elected by the city's council (since 1995 – city's municipality council). Between 1990 and 2003, the mayor was a member of the municipality's board, which performed executive functions. Between 1995 and 2003 the mayor appointed (or fired) eldermen. Since 2015 the mayor is elected directly in a

two-round system The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...

by voters registered in the municipality.

Mayors

Michał Józef Römer Michał Józef Römer (also spelled Romer or Roemer; 2 September 1778 – 14 January 1853) was a politician, writer, Freemason, and notable member of the Polish-Lithuanian identity, Polish–Lithuanian gentry. Son of Stefan Dominik Römer and Anna ...

– 1812 * Afanasiy Yarzhembskiy – 1876-1883 * Nikolay Rubtsov – 1884-1895 * Konstantin Aleksandrovich Golubinov – 1893-1897 * Pavel Vasilevich Berthold – 1897-1905 *

Michał Węsławski Michał Joachim Alojzy Węsławski (; 17 September 1849 – 22 August 1917) was a Polish people, Polish lawyer and politician who served as the Vilnius city councillor from 1897 to 1905, then mayor (president) from 1905 to 1916, and deputy to th ...

– 1905-1916 * – 1918-1919 * Witold Abramowicz – 1919 * – 1919-1927 * Józef Folejewski – 1927-1932 * – 1932-1939 * – 1941-1944 *

Vytautas Bernatonis Vytautas the Great (; 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites. In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revere ...

– 1990–1993 * Alis Vidūnas – 1995–1997 *

Algirdas Čiučelis Algirdas (; , ; – May 1377) was List of Lithuanian monarchs, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1345 to 1377. With the help of his brother Kęstutis (who defended the western border of the Duchy) he created an empire stretching from the pre ...

– 1997 *

Rolandas Paksas Rolandas Paksas (; born 10 June 1956) is a Lithuanian politician who served as the sixth President of Lithuania from 2003 until his impeachment in April 2004. He previously served two terms as the Prime Minister of Lithuania in 1999 and again ...

– 1997–1999, 2000 *

Juozas Imbrasas Juozas Imbrasas (born 8 January 1941 in Algirdai, Ukmergė district municipality) is the former mayor of Vilnius, Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three ...

– 1999–2000, 2007–2009 *

Artūras Zuokas Artūras Zuokas (born 21 February 1968) is a Lithuanian journalist, businessman and politician who served as the mayor of the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, from 2000 to 2007 and again from 2011 to 2015, and as member of Lithuania's unicameral pa ...

– 2000–2003, 2003–2007, 2011–2015 *

Gediminas Paviržis Gediminas ( – December 1341) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death in 1341. He is considered the founder of Lithuania's capital Vilnius (see: Iron Wolf legend). During his reign, he brought under his rule lands from th ...

– 2003 * Vilius Navickas – 2009–2010 *

Raimundas Alekna Raimundas is a Lithuanian masculine given name. It is a cognate of the name Raymond, and may refer to: * Raimundas Čivilis (1959–2000), Lithuanian basketball player * Raimundas Labuckas (born 1984), Lithuanian sprint canoer * Raimundas Mažuo ...

– 2010–2011 *

Remigijus Šimašius Remigijus Šimašius (born 12 January 1974) is a Lithuanian lawyer and politician, member of Seimas (2012–2015), Minister of Justice (2008–2012), Mayor of Vilnius from 2015 to 2023. Education In 1997 Šimašius graduated from the Facul ...

– 2015-2023 *

– since 2023

References

Bibliography

* * {{Vilnius

Mayors of Vilnius