#0 years ago I only remember there being a Lord Mayor of London. Now
there's a Mayor, much like our mayors, and a Lord Mayor, ceremonial.
When did the mayor like our mayor begin? Did they upgrade the position
from something else, like the "chief executive"?

Hello.

The "Mayor of London" position was formally created by the British
Parliament when they passed the Greater London Authority Act in 1999.

This "Mayor of London" position was entirely new rather than an
upgrade in the title of some existing job.  Following an election on
May 5, 2000, Ken Livingstone became the first Mayor of London under
the Act.


More information:

"One of the main manifesto pledges of the Labour Party in 1997 was a
referendum on the re-introduction of a democratically elected
strategic authority for London, with a directly elected Mayor and
Assembly. The referendum, held in May 1998, endorsed the setting up of
the Greater London Authority by a three to one majority.
 The Greater London Authority Act received Royal Assent at the end of
1999. The legislation provided for an election for the Mayor and
London Assembly - 14 constituency members elected by first past the
post and 11 pan-London members to be elected by proportional
representation...
The first Mayor of London and London Assembly, consisting of 25
salaried members, were elected on 5 May 2000."
source: A Short History of London Government
http://www.london.gov.uk/london-life/city-government/history.jsp

Also see: 
CityMayors.com - London Mayor
http://www.citymayors.com/mayors/london_mayor.html

Politics - London Government
http://www.politics.co.uk/issues/london-government-$3277308.htm

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search strategy:
"first mayor of london"
"first mayor" "Greater London Authority Act" 

Thanks.

Not to be confused with
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Mayor_of_London, who presides over
the "square mile" of the City of London, as opposed to Greater London,
which most outsiders think is the city of London.

Nelson is quite right, the City of London is a very special area,
governed - I believe - by the Corporation of London, also that the
Queen by tradition must request the right to enter the "Square Mile".
There had been earlier a Greater London Council, disbanded I think in
Margaret Thatcher's time.  The first and present head of the new
greater London, held by Ken Livingston, is certainly not a figurehead,
ceremonial office, whereas the Mayor of the City of Westminster, the
area west of the City of London and now part of the Greater London
Council, probably is.

The history of the earlier Greater London Council is discussed in the
link that I cited above:
"A Short History of London Government"
http://www.london.gov.uk/london-life/city-government/history.jsp

I don't think the Mayor of London has as much power as "your"
(presumably American?) mayors - see Wikipedia article on the Greater
London Authority.  The position has similar but I think fewer powers
than the old head of the GLC (the GLC was abolished in 1986).  Anyhow,
the same man has the job - Ken Livingstone.  Ken is considered by many
to be something approaching a crook (see Wikipedia for a summary of
his colourful history), and was elected on the grounds that it's
better to have a crook who might get things done than a total
nonentity.

The Lord Mayor of London is head of the Corporation of London which
runs the City as nelson-ga points out.  The City is of course the
financial district.  The Lord Mayor is mostly a ceremonial position
but he also does a fair bit of marketing the City as a financial
centre.

All this is less confusing if you know that the name London originally
applied only to the area that is now the financial centre, and only
later became a generic term for the entire metropolitan sprawl within
the M25.  For instance, the Great Fire of London of 1666 burned down
London in the old sense.  See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_London for more geographical
detail.