A Lesbian Mayor For Zurich

It's a lesbian mayor for Zurich, Switzerland.

Forty-eight-year old Social Democrat Corine Mauch was elected mayor of the EuroPride 09 host city on Sunday. She beat out her center-right Radicals opponent Kathrin Martelli by nearly 11,000 votes.

Zurich is Switzerland's largest city. It now joins Berlin, Germany where openly gay Klaus Wowereit became mayor of one of the world's largest cities in 2001. Openly gay Bertrand Delanoe has been mayor of Paris, France, a city of 2 million, since 2001. Delanoe is considering a run for president in 2012. Amid economic chaos, Johanna Siguroardottir, an openly gay female politician took over the reigns of Iceland in January.

Mauch will replace outgoing Mayor Elmer Ledergerber, also a center-left Social Democrat, at the end of April.

This year, Zurich becomes the world epicenter of gay culture as it hosts the world's largest gay pride, EuroPride 09. The five-week celebration includes the traditional pride parade as well a flood of gay-themed cultural, cinematic and sporting events.

“This is a real stroke of luck for EuroPride in Zurich,” said Michael Ruegg, a spokesman for EuroPride 09.

The newly elected mayor is scheduled to deliver a speech at the opening ceremony of EuroPride 09.