Welcome to the High Sheriff of Surrey’s Website
This website will inform you about the High Sheriff’s work and activities during their Shrieval Year. It features the areas of life in Surrey upon which the incumbent focuses, with reports upon, and photographs of, visits made to charities, voluntary groups, agencies and organisations, and events attended. A High Sheriff is appointed personally by the Sovereign and it is an independent, non-political and unpaid office, each occupant funding what they do during their year. It is the oldest secular Office in the UK after the Crown, dating back to Saxon days, when the shire-reeve’s role was one of collecting taxes for the King and preserving the peace. The “millennium” of the Office was celebrated in 1992.
Beginning in the Middle Ages, the Judges of Assize were given hospitality and security whilst visiting a county to try felonies, the most serious criminal offences. The Crown Court replaced the Assizes in 1971, and the High Sheriff’s role has since evolved under the aegis of the High Sheriff Association. The High Sheriff of Surrey for 2024-25 is Shahid Azeem – a Deputy Lieutenant of Surrey. Shahid was the High Sheriff of Surrey for 2020-21 and his activity as High Sheriff was limited by the Covid-19 pandemic. In view of the restrictions placed upon his tenure, he returns for a second term to continue his theme of ‘Together we are Stronger’