Mayor of St. Louis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mayor of St. Louis
Flag of St. Louis
Seal of St. Louis
Incumbent Tishaura Jones since April 20, 2021 (April 20, 2021)
Style	His/Her Honor
Term length	Four years
Inaugural holder	William Carr Lane
Formation	April 14, 1823
Succession	President of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen
Salary	$170,000
Website	Office of the Mayor

The mayor of St. Louis is the chief executive officer of St. Louis's city government. The mayor has a duty to enforce city ordinances and the power to either approve or veto city ordinances passed by the Board of Aldermen. The current mayor is Tishaura Jones, who took office on April 20, 2021.

Forty-seven people have held the office, four of whom — William Carr Lane, John Fletcher Darby, John Wimer, and John How — served non-consecutive terms. Lane, the city's first mayor, served the most terms: eight one-year terms plus the unexpired term of Darby. Francis Slay is the longest-serving mayor, having served four 4-year terms. The second-longest-serving mayor was Henry Kiel, who served 12 years and nine days over three terms in office. Two others — Raymond Tucker and Vincent C. Schoemehl — also served three terms, but seven fewer days. The shortest-serving mayor was Arthur Barret, who died 11 days after taking office. The first female mayor was Lyda Krewson, who served from 2017 to 2021.

Duties and powers

St. Louis was incorporated as a city on December 9, 1822, four months after Missouri was admitted as a state to the Union. In accordance with its new charter, the city changed its governance to a mayor-council format and elected its first mayor, William Carr Lane, on April 7, 1823.

Elections

The mayor is elected for four years during the general municipal election, which is held every two years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in April. (Party primary elections are held in March.) The mayor is usually sworn during the first session of the Board of Aldermen two weeks after the election.

Under the original city charter, the mayor was elected to a one-year term. Terms became two years under the 1859 city charter. The mayor's office was extended to its present four-year term after passage of the Charter and Scheme in 1876 which separated the City of St. Louis from St. Louis County.

The mayor is not term limited.

Succession

If the office of mayor becomes vacant through death, resignation, recall, or removal by the board of aldermen, the president of the board of aldermen becomes mayor until a special mayoral election can be held; if the office is only temporarily vacant due to disability of the mayor, the president only acts out the duties of mayor. Should both offices be vacant, the vice-president of the board of aldermen becomes mayor.

Five people have acted as mayor: Wilson Primm following the resignation of John Darby; Ferdinand W. Cronenbold following the resignation of Chauncey Filley; Herman Rechtien following the death of Arthur Barret; George W. Allen following the resignation of David Francis; and Aloys P. Kaufmann following the death of William Becker.

List of mayors

#	Portrait	Mayor	Term start	Term end	Terms		Party
1		William Carr Lane	April 14, 1823	April 14, 1829	6		Whig
2		Daniel Page	April 14, 1829	November 11, 1833	4½		Whig
3		John W. Johnston	November 11, 1833	April 14, 1835	1½		Whig
4		John Fletcher Darby	April 14, 1835	October 31, 1837	2½		Whig
—		Wilson Primm	October 31, 1837	November 15, 1837	—		Whig
1		William Carr Lane	November 15, 1837	April 14, 1840	2½		Whig
4		John Fletcher Darby	April 14, 1840	April 13, 1841	1		Whig
5		John D. Daggett	April 13, 1841	April 12, 1842	1		Whig
6		George Maguire	April 12, 1842	April 11, 1843	1		Democratic
7		John Wimer	April 11, 1843	April 9, 1844	1		Democratic
8		Bernard Pratte	April 9, 1844	April 14, 1846	2		Whig
9		Peter G. Camden	April 14, 1846	April 13, 1847	1		Know Nothing
10		Bryan Mullanphy	April 13, 1847	April 11, 1848	1		Democratic
11		John Krum	April 10, 1849	April 10, 1849	1		Democratic
12		James G. Barry	April 10, 1849	April 9, 1850	1		Democratic
13		Luther Martin Kennett	April 9, 1850	April 12, 1853	3		Whig
14		John How	April 12, 1853	April 10, 1855	2		Democratic
15		Washington King	April 10, 1855	April 15, 1856	1		Know Nothing
14		John How	April 15, 1856	April 14, 1857	1		Democratic
7		John Wimer	April 14, 1857	April 13, 1858	1		Democratic
16		Oliver Filley	April 13, 1858	April 9, 1861	2		Republican
17		Daniel G. Taylor	April 9, 1861	April 14, 1863	1		Republican
18		Chauncey Filley	April 14, 1863	March 19, 1864	½		Republican
—		Ferdinand W. Cronenbold	March 19, 1864	April 11, 1864	—
19		James Thomas	April 11, 1864	April 13, 1869	2½		Republican
20		Nathan Cole	April 13, 1869	April 11, 1871	1		Republican
21		Joseph Brown	April 11, 1871	April 13, 1875	2		War Democrat
22		Arthur Barret	April 13, 1875	April 24, 1875	⅓		Democratic
—		Herman Rechtien	April 24, 1875	May 29, 1875	—
23		James H. Britton	May 29, 1875	February 9, 1876	⅓		Democratic
24		Henry Overstolz	February 9, 1876	April 12, 1881	1⅓		Independent
25		William L. Ewing	April 12, 1881	April 14, 1885	1		Republican
26		David R. Francis	April 14, 1885	January 2, 1889	1		Democratic
—		George W. Allen	January 2, 1889	April 6, 1889	—		Democratic
27		Edward A. Noonan	April 6, 1889	April 8, 1893	1		Democratic
28		Cyrus Walbridge	April 8, 1893	April 10, 1897	1		Republican
29		Henry Ziegenhein	April 10, 1897	April 9, 1901	1		Republican
30		Rolla Wells	April 9, 1901	April 13, 1909	2		Democratic
31		Frederick Kreismann	April 13, 1909	April 12, 1913	1		Republican
32		Henry Kiel	April 12, 1913	April 21, 1925	3		Republican
33		Victor J. Miller	April 21, 1925	April 18, 1933	2		Republican
34		Bernard F. Dickmann	April 18, 1933	April 15, 1941	2		Democratic
35		William D. Becker	April 15, 1941	August 1, 1943	½		Republican
36		Aloys P. Kaufmann	August 1, 1943	April 19, 1949	1½		Republican
37		Joseph Darst	April 19, 1949	April 21, 1953	1		Democratic
38		Raymond Tucker	April 21, 1953	April 20, 1965	3		Democratic
39		Alfonso J. Cervantes	April 20, 1965	April 17, 1973	2		Democratic
40		John Poelker	April 17, 1973	April 19, 1977	1		Democratic
41		James F. Conway	April 19, 1977	April 21, 1981	1		Democratic
42		Vincent C. Schoemehl	April 21, 1981	April 20, 1993	3		Democratic
43		Freeman Bosley Jr.	April 20, 1993	April 15, 1997	1		Democratic
44		Clarence Harmon	April 15, 1997	April 17, 2001	1		Democratic
45		Francis Slay	April 17, 2001	April 18, 2017	4		Democratic
46		Lyda Krewson	April 18, 2017	April 20, 2021	1		Democratic
47		Tishaura Jones	April 20, 2021	Incumbent	1		Democratic

The Mayor of St. Louis has an office on the second floor of City Hall.