Editing Essen (section)

=== Historical development ===
The administration of Essen had for a long time been in the hands of the [[princess-abbess]]es as heads of the [[Imperial Abbey]] of [[Essen Abbey|Essen]]. However, from the 14th century onwards, the [[city council]] increasingly grew in importance. In 1335, it started choosing two [[burgomaster]]s, one of whom was placed in charge of the treasury. In 1377, Essen was granted [[imperial immediacy]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://essen.de/de/Rathaus/Aemter/Ordner_41/Stadtarchiv/geschichte/Geschichte_Chronik_8_16.html|title=Chronik der Stadt Essen|trans-title=Time-line of the City of Essen|website=essen.de|access-date=12 May 2017|archive-date=24 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111124123001/http://essen.de/de/Rathaus/Aemter/Ordner_41/Stadtarchiv/geschichte/Geschichte_Chronik_8_16.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{Needs independent confirmation|date=March 2022|reason=This claim is quite contentious.}} but had to abandon this privilege later on. Between the early 15th and 20th centuries, the political system of Essen underwent several changes, most importantly the introduction of the [[Protestant Reformation]] in 1563, the [[annexation]] of 1802 by [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]], and the subsequent [[secularization]] of the principality in 1803. The territory was made part of the Prussian [[Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg]] from 1815 to 1822, after which it became part of the Prussian [[Rhine Province]] until its dissolution in 1946.

During the [[German Revolution of 1918–19]], Essen was the home of the Essen Tendency ({{lang|de|Essener Richtung}}) within the [[Communist Workers' Party of Germany]]. In 1922 they founded the [[Communist Workers' International]]. Essen became one of the centres of resistance to [[Social Democracy]] and the [[Freikorps]] alike.

During the [[Nazi Germany|Nazi]] era (1933–1945), mayors were installed by the [[Nazi Party]]. After [[World War II]], the military government of the [[British occupation zone]] installed a new mayor and a municipal constitution modelled on that of British cities. Later, the city council was again elected by the population. The mayor was elected by the council as its head and as the city's main [[Representation (politics)|representative]]. The [[Executive (government)|administration]] was led by a full-time {{lang|de|Oberstadtdirektor}}. In 1999, the position of {{lang|de|Oberstadtdirektor}} was abolished in [[North Rhine-Westphalia]] and the mayor became both main representative and administrative head. In addition, the population now elects the mayor directly.