We characterize all linear operators on finite or infinite-dimensional polynomial spaces that preserve the property of having the zero set inside a prescribed region Omega subset of C for arbitrary closed circular domains Omega (i.e., images of the closed unit disk under a Mobius transformation) and their boundaries. This provides a natural framework for dealing with several long-standing fundamental problems, which we solve in a unified way. In particular, for Omega = R our results settle open questions that go back to Laguerre and Polya-Schur.