The Mayor of Wellington is the head of the municipal government of Wellington, New Zealand, and presides over the Wellington City Council. The Mayor of Wellington administers only Wellington City itself - peripheral areas, such as Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, and Porirua, have their own mayors. The Mayor is directly elected using STV.

The current Mayor is Kerry Prendergast.

History

The development of local government in Wellington was erratic. The first attempt to establish governmental institutions, the so-called "Wellington Republic", was short-lived - when the self-proclaimed government arrested a ship's captain for a violation of Wellingtonian law, Governor William Hobson quickly asserted British sovereignty over the whole of New Zealand, sending a contingent of soldiers to disband the Council in Wellington.

Later, in 1842, Wellington was officially proclaimed a borough, the first municipality in the country to be given this status. As such, the office of mayor was established. George Hunter and William Guyton were the only two holders of this office before it lapsed into abeyance. After a brief period of little local government at all, the Province of Wellington was established, and most of Wellington's affairs were handled by the provincial government.

On 16 September 1870, Wellington was officially incorporated as a city, and a new mayoralty was created. This is the same office that survives today. The establishment of this new government was primarily driven by John Plimmer, called by some "the Father of Wellington".

Since the modern office of Mayor was established, it has been held by a total of thirty-four people. Five people have been Mayor on two separate occasions. The longest-serving Mayor was Sir Frank Kitts, who held the office from 1956 to 1974.

List of Mayors of Wellington