city father

Noun

 * 1) A senior municipal official, especially an elected official such as a mayor, a controller, or a municipal legislator.

Usage notes

 * Problematic where women are included among the ranks of such officials, and in normalizing and reinforcing the assumption that high-ranking officials are always or usually men. "City leader" would be an alternative, but also is likely to apply to a non-governmental leader active in city affairs.

Translations

 * Finnish: kaupunginisä
 * German: Stadtvater
 * Serbo-Croatian: gradski otac