Released on = December 6, 2005, 1:52 pm

Press Release Author = Tann vom Hove, City Mayors

Industry = Non Profit

Press Release Summary = Dora Bakoyannis, Mayor of Athens, elected World Mayor 2005

Mayors of Mississauga (Canada), Guatemala City (Guatemala) and San Fernando
(Philippines) placed second, third and fourth respectively

Dora Bakoyannis, Mayor of Athens, has been elected World Mayor 2005. In an annual
international competition, which honours the world's most outstanding mayors, the
Mayor of Athens was not only strongly and passionately supported by her own
community but also by thousands of voters across Europe, North America and
Australia.


Press Release Body = Dora Bakoyannis, Mayor of Athens, elected World Mayor 2005

Mayors of Mississauga (Canada), Guatemala City (Guatemala) and San Fernando
(Philippines) placed second, third and fourth respectively

Dora Bakoyannis, Mayor of Athens, has been elected World Mayor 2005. In an annual
international competition, which honours the world's most outstanding mayors, the
Mayor of Athens was not only strongly and passionately supported by her own
community but also by thousands of voters across Europe, North America and
Australia.

Tann vom Hove, Editor of City Mayors, the organisers of the World Mayor competition,
said Ms Bakoyannis built on the successful staging of the 2004 Olympics to transform
Athens into one of Europe's most dynamic capital cities. "Elected the first female
Mayor of Athens, she has become a heroine of modern Greek politics," Mr vom Hove
added. As a victim of terrorism - her first husband was killed by terrorists - Dora
Bakoyannis has made the fight against terrorism one of her priorities. Asked what
advice she would give to other victims of terrorism she replied, fight back!

The World Mayor title and award is given annually to the mayor who, in the opinion
of an international audience, has served his or her community well and made
contributions to the well being of cities nationally and internationally. Between
June and the end of October 2005, more than 87,000 people from around the world
voted for and commented on their favourite mayors in the internet-based contest.
(Origin of voters: North America 31%, Europe 29%, Asia 22%, Central & South America
11%, Africa 4%, RoW 3%.)

In World Mayor 2005, the four top placed mayors all received more than 6,000 votes,
with Dora Bakoyannis winning the support of more than 7,500 voters. The top four
are: Dora Bakoyannis, Athens (Greece); Hazel McCallion, Mississauga (Canada); Alvaro
Arzu, Guatemala City (Guatemala) and Oscar Samson Rodriguez, San Fernando
(Philippines).

The runner-up in World Mayor 2005, the 84-year-old Mayor of Mississauga
(Ontario/Canada), Hazel McCallion, has been her city's leader since 1978. Ms
McCallion, who in November 2005 had bestowed upon her the Order of Canada, has made
her city of 700,000 people the safest in Canada. Mr vom Hove said that comments
received from her supporters convinced him that the Mayor of Mississauga was the
best-loved civic leader in Canada.

Third placed Alvaro Arzu, Mayor of Guatemala City and former President of Guatemala,
has played a major role in the Central American country's transition from war-torn
state to modern nation during his two decades in politics as Mayor, Foreign Minister
and President.
In World Mayor 2005, Mayor Arzú was strongly supported by people from his own
country but also by voters from other Central and South American countries, as well
as from North America.

Fourth placed Oscar Samson Rodriguez, Mayor of San Fernando (Pampanga/Philippines),
played a key role in transforming San Fernando from a town to a recognised city. In
World Mayor 2005 Mayor Rodriguez won wide support from across the Philippines, in
addition to votes from Filipinos in North America and Europe. His supporters
describe him as one of the most honest politicians in his country.

The top 10 mayors of World Mayor 2005
1 Dora Bakoyannis, Mayor of Athens, Greece
2 Hazel McCallion, Mayor of Mississauga, Canada
3 Alvaro Arzu, Mayor of Guatemala City, Guatemala
4 Oscar Samson Rodriguez, Mayor of San Fernando, Philippines
5 Gavin Newsom, Mayor of San Francisco, USA
6 Michael Haeupl, Mayor of Vienna, Austria
7 Christian Ude, Mayor of Munich, Germany
8 Fernando Damata Pimentel, Mayor of Belo Horizonte, Brazil
9 Shirley Franklin, Mayor of Atlanta, USA
10 John So, Mayor of Melbourne, Australia

City Mayors Editor Tann vom Hove said that all top ten mayors had gained national
and international recognition for their achievements in their own communities as
well as their contributions to urban society generally.

One of the outstanding features of World Mayor 2005 has been the strong performance
of women mayors. In addition to the three women mayors in the top ten, Dora
Bakoyannis, Hazel McCallion and Shirley Franklin, Bärbel Dieckmann, Mayor of
Bonn/Germany and Hilde Zach, Mayor of Innsbruck/Austria enjoyed considerable
support. Mayor Dieckmann has been credited with successfully transforming Bonn from
its former role as West German capital to an international centre of communications
and science, while Hilde Zach is the first woman to become leader of an Austrian
state capital.

Dora Bakoyannis will be presented with the 2005 World Mayor Award, which was
designed by French artist Manuel Ferrari. Mr vom Hove said: "We asked Manuel Ferrari
to produce a design that shows what an inspirational mayor can achieve if he builds
on strong foundations." Before contemplating the design, Manuel Ferrari learned as
much as possible about the front-runners. "I wanted to know why these mayors could
arouse such strong feelings," he said, and added that all the mayors he studied had
two characteristics in common - courage and conviction.

Links to the World Mayor website
Home page: http://www.worldmayor.com
Results of World Mayor 2005:
http://www.worldmayor.com/results05/worldmayor_results05.html
The World Mayor Award: http://www.worldmayor.com/results05/worldmayor_award05.html

Profile of Dora Bakoyannis: http://www.worldmayor.com/results05/profile_bakoyannis.html
Profile of Hazel McCallion: http://www.worldmayor.com/results05/profile_mccallion.html
Profile of Alvaro Arzu: http://www.worldmayor.com/results05/profile_arzu.html
Profile of Oscar Samson Rodriguez:
http://www.worldmayor.com/results05/profile_rodriguez.html

Dora Bakoyannis interview:
http://www.worldmayor.com/results05/interview_bakoyannis.html
Hazel McCallion interview: http://www.worldmayor.com/results05/interview_mccallion.html
Alvaro Arzu interview: http://www.worldmayor.com/results05/interview_arzu.html
Oscar Samson Rodriguez interview: http://www.worldmayor.com/results05/rodriguez.html

Comments on Dora Bakoyannis: http://www.worldmayor.com/voting05/comments_athens.html
Comments on Hazel McCallion:
http://www.worldmayor.com/voting05/comments05_mississauga.html
Comments on Alvaro Arzu: http://www.worldmayor.com/voting05/comments_guatemala.html
Comments on Oscar S Rodriguez:
http://www.worldmayor.com/voting05/comments_fernando.html

Note to editors: World Mayor, an annual project, was conceived by City Mayors in
2003 to raise the profile of mayors worldwide, as well as honour those who have
served their communities well and who have contributed to the well-being of cities,
nationally and internationally. City Mayors is looking for mayors who have shown
that they have the vision, the passion and the skills to make their cities amazing
places to live in, to work in and to visit. The 2004 winner was Edi Rama, Mayor of
Tirana, Albania.

The World Mayor project has no connection with any city or organisation and is run
on strictly non-commercial lines. Sponsorships, advertising, subscriptions,
donations or any other kind of revenue are not sought and are rejected, if offered.

City Mayors, the organisers of World Mayor, is a non-commercial research
organisation based in London, with senior editors in other European countries and
The Americas. Its internet platform http://www.citymayors.com is one of the most
comprehensive information sources on urban issues worldwide. The website attracts
more than 120,000 visitors a month.

For further information please contact:
Tann vom Hove
Editor
City Mayors/World Mayor
40 Asmuns Hill
London NW11 6ET
England
Tel: +44 20 8209 1722
Fax: +44 20 8455 4107
Email: editor@worldmayor.com
Internet: http://www.worldmayor.com
http://www.citymayors.com



Web Site = http://www.worldmayor.com

Contact Details = City Mayors
40 Asmuns Hill
London NW11 6ET
UK
Tel: +44 20 8209 1722
Fax: +44 20 8455 4107
Email: editor@worldmayor.com