The politics of Tianjin is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in the mainland of the People's Republic of China (PRC).
The Mayor of Tianjin is the highest-ranking official in the People's Government of Tianjin. Since Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality, the mayor occupies the same level in the order of precedence as provincial governors. However, in the city's dual party-government governing system, the mayor has less power than the Tianjin Chinese Communist Party Municipal Committee Secretary, colloquially termed the "Tianjin CCP Party Chief".
See main article: Tianjin Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
| Name | Tenure | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huang Kecheng | January 1949 – June 1949 | General | |
| 2 | Huang Jing | June 1949 – April 1953 | Father of Yu Zhengsheng | |
| 3 | Huang Huoqing | April 1953 – June 1958 | ||
| 4 | Wan Xiaotang | June 1958 – September 1966 | Died in office, criticized during Cultural Revolution, later rehabilitated. | |
| 5 | Xie Xuegong | January 1967 – June 1978 | Chairman of the Tianjin Revolutionary Committee | |
| 6 | Lin Hujia | June 1978 – October 1978 | ||
| 7 | Chen Weida | October 1978 – October 1984 | ||
| 8 | Ni Zhifu | October 1984 – September 1987 | ||
| 9 | Li Ruihuan | September 1987 – October 1989 | Later Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Politburo Standing Committee (1992–2002) | |
| 10 | Tan Shaowen | October 1989 – February 1993 | Died in office | |
| – | Nie Bichu | February 1993 – March 1993 | Acting | |
| 11 | Gao Dezhan | March 1993 – August 1997 | ||
| 12 | Zhang Lichang | August 1997 – March 2007 | ||
| 13 | Zhang Gaoli | March 2007 – November 2012 | Politburo Standing Committee (2012–) Vice Premier (2013–) | |
| 14 | Sun Chunlan | November 2012 – December 2014 | First female party chief | |
| – | Huang Xingguo | December 2014 – September 2016 | Acting; Sacked, found guilty of corruption, sentenced to prison | |
| 15 | Li Hongzhong | September 2016 – December 2022 | ||
| 16 | Chen Min'er | December 2022 - present |
May 1998－January 2003
See main article: Mayor of Tianjin.
May 1988－April 1990
January 2013－May 2014