In the literary works of J. R. R. Tolkien

J. R. R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...

, the Mayor of the Shire, is the sole elected office of the Shire

Shire (Middle-earth)

The Shire is a region of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, described in The Lord of the Rings and other works. The Shire refers to an area settled exclusively by Hobbits and largely removed from the goings-on in the rest of Middle-earth. It is located in the northwest of the continent, in...

 at the time of the War of the Ring

War of the Ring

In the fictional high fantasy-world of J. R. R. Tolkien, the War of the Ring was fought between Sauron and the free peoples of Middle-earth for control of the One Ring and dominion over the continent. The War of the Ring took place at the end of the Third Age. Together with the Quest of Mount Doom,...

. The mayor lives in Michel Delving, which is at this time The Shire's largest town and de facto capital.

The Mayor is elected for seven-year terms at the Free Fair Festival.
The Mayor's chief duties were serving as postmaster of the Shire's mail service, Chief Sheriff and presiding at fairs.

Will Whitfoot was Mayor of the Shire at the time of the War of the Ring in S.R. 1419 (T.A.

Third Age

The Third Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The history of Middle-earth is to be taken fictionally as a history of the real Earth....

 3019). Owing to illness incurred from his imprisonment during the war, Whitfoot delegated his powers to Frodo Baggins

Frodo Baggins

Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium.He is the main protagonist of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He was a hobbit of the Shire who inherited Sauron's Ring from Bilbo Baggins and undertook the quest to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom...

 as his deputy until Mid-year's Day 1420. Upon Whitfoot's retirement from the mayoralty in 1427 (F.A.

Fourth Age

In the fictional world of middle earth "'the fourth age'" and the ages that preceded it, are time periods from J. R. R. Tolkien's universe of Middle-earth, described in his fantasy writings...

 6), Samwise Gamgee

Samwise Gamgee

Samwise Gamgee, later known as Samwise Gardner and commonly as Sam, is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. Samwise is one of the chief characters in Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings, in which he fills an archetypical role as the sidekick of the protagonist, Frodo...

 was elected mayor. Gamgee was re-elected in 1434, 1441, 1448, 1455, 1462 and 1469, serving until 1476. As one of the Ring-bearers, in 1482 Gamgee sailed over the sea to Tol Eressëa

Tol Eressëa

In early versions of J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium , Tol Eressëa was an island visited by the Anglo-Saxon traveller Ælfwine which provided a framework for the tales that later became The Silmarillion. The name is the Elvish for "Lonely Island"...

, as Frodo Baggins had previously done.