A mukhtar (Arabic: مختار, romanized: mukhtār, lit. 'chosen one';^[1] Greek: μουχτάρης) is a village chief in the Levant: "an old institution that goes back to the time of the Ottoman rule".^[1] According to Amir S. Cheshin, Bill Hutman and Avi Melamed, the mukhtar "for centuries were the central figures".^[2] They "were not restricted to Muslim communities" where even non-Arab "Christian and Jewish communities in the Arab world also had mukhtars."^[2]

Quoting Tore Björgo: "The mukhtar was, among other things, responsible for collecting taxes and ensuring that law and order was prevailing in his village".^[3]