The mayor of New York City is the chief executive of the Government of New York City, as stipulated by New York City's charter. The current officeholder, the 110th in the sequence of regular mayors, is Eric Adams, a member of the Democratic Party.
During the Dutch colonial period from 1624 to 1664, New Amsterdam was governed by the Director of New Netherland. Following the 1664 creation of the British Province of New York, newly renamed New York City was run by the British military governor, Richard Nicolls. The office of Mayor of New York City was established in 1665. Holders were appointed by colonial governors, beginning with Thomas Willett. The position remained appointed until 1777. That year, during the American Revolution, a Council of Appointment was formed by the State of New York. In 1821 the New York City Council – then known as the Common Council – began appointing mayors. Since 1834, mayors have been elected by direct popular vote.[1]
The city included little beyond the island of Manhattan before 1874, when it annexed the western part of the Bronx, to be followed in 1895 by the rest of the Bronx. The 1898 consolidation created the city as it is today with five boroughs: Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. The first mayor of the expanded city was Robert Anderson Van Wyck.
The longest-serving mayors have been Fiorello H. La Guardia (1934–1945), Robert F. Wagner Jr. (1954–1965), Ed Koch (1978–1989) and Michael Bloomberg (2002–2013), each of whom was in office for twelve years (three successive four-year terms). The shortest terms in office since 1834 have been those of acting mayors: William T. Collins served a single day on December 31, 1925, Samuel B. H. Vance served one month (from November 30 to December 31, 1874), and Thomas Coman served five weeks (from Monday, November 30, 1868, to Monday, January 4, 1869).