JOHAN ACKAERT is at Limburgs University Centrum, BelgiumHARALD BALDERSHEIM Professor in Department of Political Science, University of Oslo, NorwayBAS DENTERS Professor of Urban Policy and Politics, University of Twente, The NetherlandsJAUME MAGRE FERRAN Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Barcelona, SpainXAVIER BERTRANA HORTA Analyst, Centre for Local Innovation, Barcelona, SpainERIC KERROUCHE Charge de recherche CNRS, FrancePIETER-JAN KLOK Department of Science, Technology, Health and Policy Studies, University of Twente, The NetherlandsANDRES LADNER Professor and Dr at the Kompetenzzentrum for Public Management, SwitzerlandHELGE O. LARSEN Professor at Nesna Unversity College, NorwaySTIG MONTIN Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies, Orebro University, SwedenCLARENCE N. STONE Professor, George Washington Institute of Public Policy, George Washington University, USAJAMES H. SVARA Professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, North Carolina State University, USAHENK VAN DER KOLK Department of Political Science and Research Methods, University of Twente, The NetherlandsHELLMUT WOLLMANN Professor, Department of Political Science, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany

• List of Tables List of Figures Acknowldgements Institutional Reforms in Local Government: A Comparative Framework; R.Berg & N.Rao The Reform of the Political Executive in Dutch Local Government; B.Denters, P.J.Klok & H.van der Kolk The Directly-elected Executive Mayor in German Local Government; H.Wollmann From Committees to Leaders and Cabinets: The British Experience; N.Rao From Aldermen to Ministers: The Oslo Model; H.Baldersheim Municipal Presidentialism and Democratic Consolidation in Spain; J.M.Ferran & X.B.Horta From Cabinets to Committees; The Danish Experience R.Berg Laymen and Executives in Swiss Local Government; A.Ladner The Swedish Model: Many Actors and a Few Strong Leaders; S.Montin Institutional Form and Political Leadership in American City Government; J.H.Svara The Powerful French Mayor: Myth and Reality; E.Kerrouche Transformation of the Political Executive in Belgian Local Government; J.Ackaert Institutions Count But Resources Decide: American Mayors and the Limits of Formal Structure; C.N.Stone Transforming Political Leadership: Models, Trends and Reforms; H.O.Larsen Bibliography Index

'Berg and Rao have provided us with a valuable and righ collection of comparative materials on local political leadership...there is much that academics and professionals can learn from this collection'. - Michael Goldsmith, Public Administration