äldste

Noun

 * 1) elders (plural only), a governing body made up of seniors
 * Men när det hade blivit morgon, fattade alla översteprästerna och folkets äldste det beslutet angående Jesus, att de skulle döda honom.
 * When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. (Matthew 27:1)

Usage notes

 * Before the municipal reform of 1862, Swedish towns had two governing bodies, magistrat (magistrate) and stadens äldste (elders of the town). These were replaced with stadsfullmäktige, now called kommunfullmäktige.