The starost or starosta is a Slavic term denoting a community elder whose role was to administer the assets of a clan or family estates. The Slavic root of starost translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has meant an official in a leadership position in a range of civic and social contexts throughout the Slavic world. In terms of a municipality, a starosta was historically a senior royal administrative official, equivalent to the County Sheriff or the outdated Seneschal, and analogous to a gubernator. In Poland, a starosta would administer crown territory or a delineated district called a starostwo. In the early Middle Ages, the starosta could head a settled urban or rural community or other communities, such as a church starosta, or an artel starosta, etc. The starosta also functioned as the master of ceremonies in traditional Carpatho-Rusyn, Ukrainian, and Polish weddings, similar to the stari svat at Serbian weddings.
Castle Starosta,, Starosta grodowy as local representative of the king, would supervise fiscal, judicial administration and matters of crime in a district, termed starostwo, and
Land-Starosta, Starosta niegrodowy, capitaneus sine iurisdictione, whose role was as overseer of crown land tenants and of the land tenure without any real obligations. The absence of an Interdict against the accumulation of thus administered districts resulted in some nobles becoming immensely rich and earning the sobriquet, magnates.
There were also general starosts who were provincial governors. All starosts disappeared after the Kosciuszko Insurrection in 1794 and were not reinstated until after World War I when their role was altered. In contemporary Poland, starosta designates a district administrator, who heads the district administration starostwo and manages a powiat district, akin to the leader of a town or rural council.
In the Czech Republic and Slovakia starosta is the title of a mayor of a town or village. Mayors of major cities use the title primátor. The term corresponds to the Austrian or German Bürgermeister.
Historically, the title "Starost" was also used in parts of the Holy Roman Empire but was not tied to ownership of land. The German word Starostei referred to the office or crown land district of a Starost. In German, the title starost/starosta is also translated as Hauptmann and analogous to a gubernator.
In Ukraine during 1918 it was a post of an appointed official who represented the central government in regions. From 2015 is an official of a village that is a part of the united commune.
