Who becomes interim mayor of Pawnee after Mayor Gunderson's death?

After Mayor Gunderson’s death, Garry Gergich becomes interim mayor of Pawnee.

The change occurs in the seventh-season episode “Two Funerals,” when the long-serving Mayor Walter Gunderson dies. City manager Ben Wyatt must find someone to serve temporarily, and Garry—better known to viewers as Jerry, Larry, or Terry because his coworkers repeatedly misname him—is appointed to the role.

The choice is one of the show’s most satisfying reversals. Garry is routinely treated as the office punching bag, despite being kind, competent, and blessed with an unusually happy family life. His appointment turns the workplace joke into a civic success story: the character everyone underestimates is trusted with Pawnee’s highest local office.

The interim appointment also leads to a later development. In the series finale, a flash-forward reveals that Garry wins a write-in campaign and is officially elected mayor. He is repeatedly reelected, eventually serving Pawnee for many terms. Thus, the interim mayorship is not merely a temporary gag but the beginning of Garry’s long political career.