The office of mayor of Reykjavík (Icelandic: Borgarstjóri Reykjavíkur) was created in 1907 and advertised in 1908. Páll Einarsson and Knud Zimsen applied for the job and Páll got the position for a period of six years, at the end of which he did not wish to renew his tenure. Rather than a direct election, Reykjavík City Council members elect the mayor from within their ranks.
Between 1932 and 1994 the centre-right Independence Party dominated Reykjavík municipal politics, but since then other parties have been more competitive. During the 2006–2010 term four people held the mayor position, due to an unprecedented amount of instability in Reykjavík's municipal coalition government caused in part by the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis.
The incumbent mayor is Hildur Björnsdóttir, who took office in 2026. The city is governed by a coalition of the Independence Party, Reform Party (Viðreisn), and Progressive Party, which took office following the 2026 Reykjavík City Council election. As of 2026, Reykjavík has had 24 mayors, including 18 men and 6 women.