This is a list of Mayors of Raleigh since the creation of the office in 1857. The Mayor is the head of a council-manager system of government for Raleigh, North Carolina. The office was created in 1857, when a new charter was established for the city to replace the original 1795 charter.
William Dallas Haywood (first time), 1857–58
William H. Harrison (first time), 1858–67
William Dallas Haywood (second time), 1867–68
William H. Harrison (second time), 1868–72
Wesley Whitaker, 1872–74
Joseph W. Holden, 1874–75
John C. Gorman, 1875
Joseph Henry Separk, 1875
Basil C. Manly, 1875–82
W. H. Dodd, 1882–87
Alfred A. Thompson, 1887–91
Thomas Badger, 1891–95
William M. Russ, 1895–98
A. M. Powell, 1898–1905
James I. Johnson (first time), 1905–09
J. S. Wynne, 1909–11
James I. Johnson (second time), 1911–19
T. B. Eldridge, 1919–23
E. E. Culbreth, 1923–31
George A. Iseley, 1931–39
Graham H. Andrews, 1939–47
P. D. Snipes, 1947–51
J. E. Briggs, 1951–53
Fred B. Wheeler, 1951-57
William G. Enloe, 1957–63
James W. Reid, 1963–65
Travis H. Tomlinson, 1965–69
Seby B. Jones, 1969–71
Thomas W. Bradshaw, 1971–73
Clarence Lightner, 1973–75
Jyles J. Coggins, 1975–77
Isabella Cannon, 1977–79
George Smedes York, 1979–83
Avery C. Upchurch, 1983–93
Tom Fetzer, 1993–99
Paul Coble, 1999–2001
Charles Meeker, 2001–2011
Nancy McFarlane, 2011–present
Under Raleigh's original 1795 charter, the equivalent of a mayor was called the "Intendant of Police" (a title borrowed from France). The first person to hold the office was John Haywood. He was elected by the city board of commissioners (who were themselves appointed by the North Carolina General Assembly). Starting in 1803, intendants were elected annually by all land-owning free men, including free African-Americans.
John Haywood (1795 – c. 1803)
William White (1803–1806)
William Hill,(1806–1807)
Dr. Calvin Jones (1807–?)
John Marshall
Jonathan S. Robeteau
Sterling Yancey
Joseph Gales, Sr. (1819–1833; 1840–1841)
Weston R. Gales
William C. Carrington
Thomas Loring
