Mayor of Wellington City
| Mayor of Wellington City | |
|---|---|
Coat of arms of the City of Wellington
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| Style | His/Her Worship |
| Seat | Wellington Town Hall |
| Term length | Three years |
| Inaugural holder | George Hunter |
| Formation | 3 October 1842 |
| Deputy | Paul Eagle |
| Salary | $167,800 |
| Website | official website |
The Mayor of Wellington City is the head of the municipal government of Wellington, New Zealand, and presides over the Wellington City Council. Adjacent local bodies - Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, and Porirua - have their own mayors. The Mayor is directly elected using STV.
The current Mayor is Justin Lester, elected in October 2016.
The development of local government in Wellington was erratic. The first attempt to establish governmental institutions, the so-called "Wellington Republic", was short lived and based on rules written by the New Zealand Company. Colonel William Wakefield was to be the first President.
When the self-proclaimed government arrested a ship's captain for a violation of Wellington law, the Governor William Hobson quickly asserted British sovereignty over the whole of New Zealand, sending a contingent of soldiers to disband the council in Wellington.
In January 1842, the Legislative Council in Auckland passed the Municipal Corporations Ordinance, and in May 1842 Wellington was officially proclaimed a borough, the first municipality with this status. The office of mayor was established, but there were only two holders of this office under the Ordinance.
George Hunter received the most votes in the election for 12 Burgesses to the new council on 3 October 1842 and was declared mayor. He died suddenly on 19 July 1843. William Guyton was then declared mayor, as runner-up in 1842.
The British Government disallowed the Municipal Corporations Ordinance, but news of this did not reach Wellington until late September 1843, after the election had been held and a second Burgess Roll of qualified voters had been prepared, in 1843 (both Rolls are listed in Carman). After a brief period of little local government, the Province of Wellington was established in 1852, and most of Wellington's affairs were handled by the provincial government.
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