The Legal Status of the Head of a Municipality: Trends in Federal and Regional Legislation

The article examines changes in the legal status of the head of a municipality resulting from the adoption of Federal Law No. 33-FZ of March 20, 2025, On the General Principles of the Organization of Local Self-Government within the Unified System of Public Authority, and their implementation in the legislation of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Particular attention is paid to the new legal construct under which the head of a municipality simultaneously holds a municipal office and a public office of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation. The article considers how this construct relates to the representative nature of the head of a municipality as an elected local government official and compares it with foreign models of the functional dualism of a mayor’s status. Based on an analysis of 141 laws of all 89 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the article systematizes regional models for selecting heads of municipalities and determines their position within the structure of local government bodies. The analysis reveals a trend towards the wider use of election by representative bodies from among candidates nominated by the highest officials of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as well as towards the model in which the head of a municipality also heads the local administration. Particular attention is also paid to regional regulation of employment-related and social guarantees for heads of municipalities. The study demonstrates considerable variation in the scope and content of such guarantees and the absence of a uniform minimum standard. It argues for establishing a minimum set of guarantees for holders of municipal office directly in federal legislation. 

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