| Governing Mayor of Berlin | |
|---|---|
| Regierender Bürgermeister von Berlin (German) | |
 | |
 | |
| Type | Lord Mayor Head of government |
| Member of | Senate of Berlin |
| Residence | Rotes Rathaus |
| Appointer | Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin |
| Term length | Pending resignation or the election of a successor |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Berlin |
| Precursor | Lord Mayor of Greater Berlin |
| Formation | 11 January 1951 |
| First holder | Ernst Reuter |
| Website | berlin |
The governing mayor (German: Regierender Bürgermeister) of Berlin is the head of government, presiding over the Berlin Senate. As Berlin is an independent city as well as one of the constituent states of Germany (Bundesländer), the office is the equivalent of the ministers president of the other German states, except the states of Hamburg and Bremen, where the heads of government are called "First Mayor" and "President of the Senate and Mayor", respectively. The title Governing Mayor of Berlin is the equivalent of Lord Mayor in the meaning of an actual executive leader.
According to the Berlin Constitution, the governing mayor is member and head of the Berlin Senate. The ministers are called senators. The two deputies additionally hold the title of Mayor (German: Bürgermeister, historically: burgomaster). The title Mayor is also held by the heads of the twelve boroughs of Berlin, although they do not actually preside over self-governmental municipalities.
The governing mayor is elected by the city's state parliament, the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin (equivalent to the Landtag of other federal states), which also controls their policy guidelines and is able to enforce resignation by a motion of no confidence. The governing mayor is entitled to appoint and release the senators of the government.
The seat of the Senate is the city hall, Rotes Rathaus, in Mitte.