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Since a 2001 administrative reform, it is made up of twelve boroughs or districts (German: Bezirke, pronounced ), each with its own local government, though all boroughs are subject to Berlin’s city and state government. Each borough is governed by a council (Bezirksamt) with five councillors (Bezirksstadträte) and a borough mayor (Bezirksbürgermeister). The borough council is elected by the borough assembly (Bezirksverordnetenversammlung). The borough governments' power is limited, and subordinate to the Berlin Senate. The borough mayors form a council of mayors (Rat der Bürgermeister, led by the city's governing mayor), which advises the Senate. History Each borough is made up of several officially recognized subdistricts or neighborhoods (Ortsteile in German, sometimes called quarters in English). These neighborhoods typically have a historical identity as former independent cities, villages, or rural municipalities that were united in 1920 as part of the Greater Berlin Act, forming the basis for the present-day city and state.