Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality

Beit HaVa'ad, 1924

Meir Dizengoff was appointed head of the town planning in 1911. When Tel Aviv was recognized as a city, Dizengoff was elected mayor, remaining in office until his death.[2]

The Tel Aviv municipality was initially located on Rothschild Boulevard. When more office space was needed, the municipality rented a hotel on Bialik Street, near the home of national poet Chaim Nachman Bialik, which had been built by the Skura family in 1924. The hotel had opened for business in 1925 but closed due to the lack of tourists. In 1928, the municipality bought the hotel.[3]

A new city hall was designed in the 1950s by architect Menachem Cohen, in the Brutalist style. The large plaza, Rabin Square, at the foot of the building was designed as a central area for public events and ceremonies. [4] It is located on Ibn Gabirol Street.

Historic municipality building, 2007

In 1972, the old building was converted into a museum for the history of Tel Aviv.[3]

The municipality is governed by a 31-member council elected by proportional representation every five years. Parties represented include One Tel Aviv Labour/Kadima faction, the Senior Citizens faction, the New Movement-Meretz and the Greens, the Likud and a number of religious parties such as Shas.[5]

Tel Aviv mayor Roni Milo of Likud was governing with a broad coalition of parties. He was defeated by Huldai in the municipal elections of November 1998. In 2003, Huldai was re-elected by a wide margin. He replaced the system of administration in which municipal divisions were headed by aldermen representing different coalition factions with a centralized system in which divisions are headed by top civil servants who report to him.[6]