The Mayor of Penang Island was a position forst held by Patahiyah Ismail in 2015 an was succeeded by Maimunah Mohd Sharif who later was appointed as Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme.
Patahiyah Ismail, who became the first female Mayor of Penang Island in 2015, held the position until 2017, when she was succeeded by Maimunah Mohd Sharif. However, Maimunah's tenure as the Mayor of Penang Island lasted for only a year, following her concurrent appointment as the Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres; Maimunah thus became the first Asian to be elected for the role. 
