Joseph Ansoetegui Shakspeare (April 12, 1837 – 22 January 1896) was an American politician in Louisiana; he served as the elected mayor of New Orleans from 1880 to 1882 and from 1888 to 1892.

In the municipal election of 1880, Shakspeare accepted the mayoral nomination of a coalition of reformers determined to take power from the Ring, a scandal-plagued local Democratic political machine.

He was the only reformer elected, so he faced unending hostility from the seven-member City Council and administrative board, both still controlled by the Ring.

Still, Shakspeare was able to overhaul the city's disorganized budget and managed to reschedule the crippling municipal debts left over from the Civil War and Reconstruction.

He attempted to reform the fire and police departments, by removing them as destinations for job seekers for political patronage but was thwarted by City Council.

The election was characterized by the presence at polling places of armed bands of men from both the reform and Ring camps, who attempted intimidation.

Shakspeare's public hostility to Italian Americans after the murder, and the lynching which took place on his watch, and which he did nothing to prevent, tarnished his reputation.

Shakspeare ran for a third term in 1892, but was defeated by Ring candidate John Fitzpatrick, a popular politician with strong pro-labor credentials, who also benefitted from the Italian-American vote.