TheMayor of Frankfurt (German:Oberbürgermeister (male) orOberbürgermeisterin (female), sometimes translated as "Lord Mayor") is the highest-ranking member of city government inFrankfurt, Germany. The mayor was traditionally elected by the city council. This system was replaced in 1995, and the position has beendirectly elected. Three people have won election since then:Petra Roth (CDU),Peter Feldmann (SPD) andMike Josef (SPD). In November 2022, following a successful recall election against Feldmann,Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg (Green) was the interim mayor of Frankfurt for six months. Current mayorMike Josef (SPD) assumed the office in May 2023 following the election with 51.7% of the votes against theCDU candidate Uwe Becker.^[1][2]

The mayor is "first among equals" on the city cabinet (Magistrat), and acts as the cabinet's spokesperson. The mayor is also responsible for the policies of local government departments and oversees the city's administration.^[3]

TheFree City of Frankfurt, as a state in theHoly Roman Empire and later theGerman Confederation, had various leadership structures, the most durable of which saw the city with two mayors: Senior Mayor (Ältere Bürgermeister) and Junior Mayor (Jüngere Bürgermeister).^[4] The present position ofOberbürgermeister was introduced in 1868 following the occupation of the city by theKingdom of Prussia. Through the second half of the 19th century and first half of the 20th century, Frankfurt's mayors oversaw the development of Frankfurt into a major centre for trade and culture.^[5]

In 1933 following the appointment ofAdolf Hitler asChancellor of Germany,Ludwig Landmann – Frankfurt's first Jewish mayor – was expelled from the council, and Nazi Party memberFriedrich Krebs was appointed in his place. Although the left-wing SPD andCommunist Party had an overall majority on the council, they were excluded from the council session that confirmed Krebs' appointment.^[5]

Krebs remained in office until the US military captured the city in March 1945. The US military governorship that followed appointed trusted democrats as mayor to oversee the immediatedenazification of the city administration and the beginnings of reconstruction. Council elections resumed in July 1946, and the SPD held the mayorship for the next thirty years. The rebuilding of Frankfurt was a significant topic in these years.^[5]

Following a statewide referendum, the office of mayor inHesse became directly elected. Frankfurt's first mayoral election was held in 1995 and saw a surprise victory for CDU candidate Petra Roth over the incumbentAndreas von Schoeler (SPD). Since then, mayoral elections have been noted as especially personality-driven, and candidates regularly defy national party trends to become increasingly popular over the course of their mayoralty.^[6] Roth increased her majority over the course of her mayorship, winning in 2007 in the first round with 60.5% of the vote.^[7] After Roth resigned in 2012, Peter Feldmann (SPD) won a surprise victory overBoris Rhein (CDU), the Hessianinterior minister, and he too saw a significant increase vote increase in his second election in 2018.^[8] Following various controversies, Feldmann faced a recall election in which he was recalled with 95.1% of the vote. Deputy Mayor Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg (Green) thus assumed the office and serves in a caretaker capacity until the next election scheduled for March 2023.^[9]

Since 1868 there have been 19 mayors of Frankfurt: 14 indirectly elected, 3 appointed and 2 directly elected.^[5]

Term		Image	Name	Party		Selection method
1868	1880		Daniel Heinrich Mumm von Schwarzenstein [de]		Independent	Indirect election
1880	1890		Johannes von Miquel		NLP	Indirect election
1890	1912		Franz Adickes		Independent liberal	Indirect election
1912	1924		Georg Voigt		DDP	Indirect election
1924	1933		Ludwig Landmann		DDP	Indirect election
1933	1945		Friedrich Krebs		NSDAP	Appointed by Nazi Party[n 1]
1945	1945		Wilhelm Hollbach [de]		Independent	Appointed by US military
1945	1946		Kurt Blaum		CDU	Appointed by US military
1946	1956		Walter Kolb		SPD	Indirect election
1956	1964		Werner Bockelmann		SPD	Indirect election
1964	1970		Willi Brundert		SPD	Indirect election
1970	1971		Walter Möller		SPD	Indirect election
1971	1977		Rudi Arndt		SPD	Indirect election
1977	1986		Walter Wallmann		CDU	Indirect election
1986	1989		Wolfram Brück		CDU	Indirect election
1989	1991		Volker Hauff		SPD	Indirect election
1991	1995		Andreas von Schoeler		SPD	Indirect election
1995	2012		Petra Roth		CDU	Direct election
2012	2022		Peter Feldmann		SPD	Direct election
2022	2023		Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg		Green	Acting[n 2]
2023	Incumbent		Mike Josef		SPD	Direct election

The Mayor of Frankfurt is elected by thetwo-round system: if no candidate receives over 50% in the first round, a run-off is held between the top two candidates. The election is open to German and EU citizens over 18 years old who have lived in the city for at least three months. The mayor's term is 6 years – elections are brought forward if the mayor resigns or is otherwise removed from office.^[3]

Do you agree with the recall of the Mayor of Frankfurt am Main, Mr Peter Feldmann?

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	201,825	95.1
No	10,371	4.9
Valid votes	212,196	99.7
Invalid or blank votes	667	0.3
Total votes	212,863	100.00
Turnout required	30
Registered voters/turnout	508,182	41.9
Source: City of Frankfurt am Main[11]

• Timeline of Frankfurt

• History of Frankfurt
• Lists of mayors of places in Germany
• Hesse-related lists

• CS1 German-language sources (de)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from April 2020
• Articles containing German-language text