Mayor
Many LGBTQ people aspire to politics and often their first step is at the local level. Perhaps not the most glamorous of jobs – dealing with matters such as transportation, garbage pickup, local bylaws, and many social issues – being mayor deals with issues which directly affect our everyday lives.
Cities around the world with an LGBTQ mayor vary from small municipalities with only a few hundred residents to large metropolitan areas including Paris, Houston, and Berlin. While dealing with a wide variety of issues is par for the course for these individuals, no doubt issues particular to the gay community receive their due attention.
Cities with LGBTQ mayors are located in countries such as France, Germany, Switzerland, Chile, Columbian, Luxembourg, India, Spain, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, the United States, Italy, and Great Britain.
Do you know who the world’s first transsexual mayor was and of what city? And which LGBTQ mayor of one of the world’s most famous cities survived an assassination attempt? Read on to find out.
- Sam Adams, Portland, Oregon, USA
- Claudio Arriagada, La Granja, Chile
- Toni Atkins, San Diego, California, USA
- Jenny Bailey, Cambridge, Great Britain
- Richard Barnes, London Deputy Mayor, England
- E. F. (Fred) Benson, Rye, Great Britain
- Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg
- Georgina Beyer, Carterton, New Zealand
- Jerry Birdwell, South Lake Tahoe, California
- Christopher Cabaldon, West Sacremento, California, USA
- David Cicilline, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
- Rosario Crocetta, Gela, Sicily
- John D'Amico, West Hollywood, California, USA
- Asha Devi, Gorakhupr, India
- Bertrand Delanoe, Paris, France
- Larry Forester, Signal Hill, California, USA
- John William Fowler, South Sydney, Australia
- Robert Garcia, Long Beach, California, USA
- Karen Geraghty, Portland, Maine, USA
- Neil Giuliano, Tempe, Arizona, USA
- Don Guardian, Atlantic City, New Jersey USA
- Bruce Harris, Borough of Chatham, New Jersey USA
- Craig Lowe, Gainsville, Florida, USA
- Angelica Lozano, Bogota, Columbia
- Corine Mauch, Zurich, Switzerland
- Alex Morse, Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA
- Andrew Muir, North Down, Northern Ireland
- Glen Murray, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
- Ted Nebbeling, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
- Peter O'Donnell, Portland, Maine, USA
- Annise Parker, Houston, Texas, USA
- Benjamin Medrano Quezada, Fresnillo Mexico
- Stu Rasmussen, Silverton, Oregon, USA
- Janet Rice, Maribyrnong, Australia
- Jeronimo Saavedra, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
- Pedro Segarra, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
- Ole von Beust, Hamburg, Germany
- Helen Westwood, Bankstown, Australia
- Charlotte Whitton, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Klaus Wowereit, Berlin, Germany
