Mayor vs. Governor: What's the Difference?
Table of Contents
Main Difference
The main difference between Mayor and Governor is that the Mayor is a head of municipal government such as a town or city and Governor is a governing official.
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor (from the Latin maior [majˈjɔr], meaning “bigger”) is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town.
Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as the means by which a mayor is elected or otherwise mandated. Depending on the system chosen, a mayor may be the chief executive officer of the municipal government, may simply chair a multi-member governing body with little or no independent power, or may play a solely ceremonial role. Options for selection of a mayor include direct election by the public, or selection by an elected governing council or board.
Governor
A governor is, in most cases, a public official with the power to govern the executive branch of a non-sovereign or sub-national level of government, ranking under the head of state. In federations, governor may be the title of a politician who governs a constituent state and may be either appointed or elected. The power of the individual governor can vary dramatically between political systems, with some governors having only nominal or largely ceremonial power, while others having a complete control over the entire government.
Historically, the title can also apply to the executive officials acting as representatives of a chartered company which has been granted exercise of sovereignty in a colonial area, such as the British East India Company or the Dutch East India Company. These companies operate as a major state within a state with its own armed forces.
There can also be non-political governors: high-ranking officials in private or similar governance such as commercial and non-profit management, styled governor(s), who simply govern an institution, such as a corporation or a bank. For example, in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries, there are prison governors (“wardens” in the United States), school governors and bank governors.
The adjective pertaining to a governor is gubernatorial, from the Latin root gubernare. The historical female form is governess, though female officials are referred to by the gender-neutral form governor (without the gender specific suffix) of the noun to avoid confusion with other meanings of the term.
Mayor (noun)
The leader of a city, or a municipality, sometimes just a figurehead and sometimes a powerful position. In some countries, the mayor is elected by the citizens or by the city council.
Mayor (noun)
By restriction, a male municipal leader
Governor (noun)
The chief executive officer of a province or provincial-level division of a country.
Governor (noun)
A device which regulates or controls some action of a machine through automatic feedback.
Governor (noun)
father.
Governor (noun)
Boss, employer.
Governor (noun)
A constituent of a phrase that governs another.
Governor (noun)
One who has the care or guardianship of a young man; a tutor; a guardian.
Governor (noun)
A pilot; a steersman.
Mayor (noun)
(in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland) the head of a town, borough, or county council, elected by council members and generally having purely ceremonial duties.
Mayor (noun)
(in the US, Canada, and certain other countries) the head of a municipal corporation, elected by the public.
Governor (noun)
an official appointed to govern a town or region.
Governor (noun)
the elected executive head of a state of the US.
Governor (noun)
the representative of the British Crown in a colony or in a Commonwealth state that regards the monarch as head of state.
Governor (noun)
the head of a public institution
“the governor of the Bank of England”
Governor (noun)
a member of a governing body.
Governor (noun)
the person in authority; one’s employer.
Governor (noun)
a device automatically regulating the supply of fuel, steam, or water to a machine, ensuring uniform motion or limiting speed.
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