Hobbiton

The Thain is the figurehead mostly associated with preserving the government structure after the collapse of the western kingdoms of men. This is the closest the Shire has to a Head of State and military commander, but it has little if any practical power. The Thain did have power over the “Hobbitry-in-arms”, the Shire militia. But this was rarely summoned. The Warden of the Westmarch is similarly a technical executive, but with little real power.   The Mayor of the Shire, while having more power than the Thain, that is not saying much. There are actual elections for this post. Holding this post requires winning the only free and fair elections I know of in Middle Earth. Each term was 7 years. The Mayor is the chief sheriff, postmaster and head of major festivals.