The Mayor of Bucharest (Primarul General al Municipiului Bucureşti in Romanian), sometimes known as the General Mayor, is the head of the Bucharest City Hall in Bucharest, Romania, which is responsible for city-wide affairs, such as the water system, the transport system and the main boulevards. The title of General Mayor is sometimes used to distinguish the office from that of the sectorial mayors that lead each of Bucharest's six administrative sectors, and which are responsible for local area affairs, such as secondary streets, parks, schools and cleaning services. All decisions of the mayor have to be approved by the 55-seat General Council of Bucharest.
The office was created on 7 August 1864, when a new French-style local administration law was adopted.
The current Mayor of Bucharest is Sorin Oprescu, who was elected in June 2008 and re-elected for a second term in June 2012. He is independent of political party affiliation.
Famous quotes containing the words mayor and/or bucharest:
“Break up the printing presses and you break up rebellion.”
—Dudley Nichols, U.S. screenwriter. Jean Renoir. Mayor (Thurston Hall)
“I had such a wonderful feeling last night, walking beneath the dark sky while cannon boomed on my right and guns on my left ... the feeling that I could change the world only by being there.”
—Viorica Butnariu, Rumanian student at Bucharest University. letter, Dec. 23, 1989, to American friend. Observer (London, Dec. 31, 1989)