President is a
title held by
many leaders of
organizations,
companies,
trade unions,
universities, and
countries.
Etymologically,
a "president" is one who
presides, who sits in leadership (from
Latin pre- "before" +
sedere
"to sit"; giving the term
praeses).
Originally, the term referred to the presiding officer of a
ceremony or meeting (i.e.,
chairman), but
today it most commonly refers to an official. Among other things,
president today is a common title for the
heads of state of most
republics, whether popularly
elected, chosen by the
legislature or by a special
electoral college. It is also often
adopted by
dictators.
History
As an English word, the term was originally used to refer to the
presiding officer of a committee or governing body in Great
Britain.
Early examples are the President of the
Exchequer ("presidentis" in the original
Latin, from the Dialogue concerning the
Exchequer, 1179), the presidents of the universities of
Oxford
and Cambridge
(from 1464), and the founding President of the Royal
Society (William Brouncker,
1660).
Later this usage was applied to political leaders, including the
leaders of some of the
Thirteen
Colonies (originally Virginia in 1608); in full, the "President
of the Council". The first president of a country was
George Washington, the
President of the United
States. In America the title was "upgraded" from its earlier
use for the
President of the
Continental Congress, the "officer in charge of the
Continental Congress" since 1774. As
other countries deposed their monarchies and became republics,
president was commonly adopted as the title for the head
of state. The first European president was the
president of France, a post created in
the
Second Republic of 1848.
The first president of an internationally recognized African state
was the
President of Liberia in
1848. Today, most
republics have a
President as their head of state.
Presidents as head of state
Presidents in democratic countries
Presidential systems
In states with a
presidential
system of
government, the president
exercises the functions of
Head of
State and
Head of Government,
i.e. he or she directs the executive branch of government.
Presidents in this system are either
directly elected by
popular vote or
indirectly elected by an electoral
college.
In the
United States of
America
, the president is
indirectly elected by the Electoral College made up of electors
chosen by voters in the presidential election. In most U.S.
states, each elector is committed to voting for a specified
candidate determined by the popular vote in each state, so that the
people, in voting for each elector, are in effect voting for the
candidate. However, in four close U.S. elections (
1824,
1876,
1888,
2000), the candidate with
the most popular votes still lost the electoral count.
In
Mexico
, the president
is directly elected for a six-year term by popular
vote. The candidate who wins the most votes is elected
president even if he or she does not have an absolute majority. In
Mexico, every presidential election will always be a non-incumbent
election. The
2006
Mexican elections had a fierce competition, the electoral
results showed a minimal difference between the two most voted
candidates and such difference was just about the 0.58% of the
total vote. The
Federal
Electoral Tribunal declared an elected President after a
controversial post-electoral process.
In
Brazil
, the president
is directly elected for a four-year term by popular
vote. A candidate has to have more than 50% of the valid
votes. If no candidates achieve a majority of the votes, there is a
runoff election between the two
candidates with most votes. Again, a candidate needs a majority of
the vote to be elected. In Brazil, a president cannot be elected to
more than two consecutive terms, but there is no limit on the
number of terms a president can serve.
Many
South American,
Central American, and
African nations follow the presidential model.
Semi-presidential systems
A third
system is the semi-presidential
system, also known as the French
system, in
which like the Parliamentary system there is both a president and a
prime minister, but unlike the parliamentary system, the president
may have significant day-to-day power. When his party
controls the majority of seats in the National Assembly, the
president can operate closely with the parliament and prime
minister, and work towards a common agenda. When the National
Assembly is controlled by opponents of the President however, the
president can find himself marginalized with the opposition party
prime minister exercising most of the power. Though the prime
minister remains an appointee of the president, the president must
obey the rules of parliament, and select a leader from the house's
majority holding party. Thus, sometimes the president and prime
minister can be allies, sometimes rivals; the latter situation is
known as
cohabitation.
Variants
of the French semi-presidential system, developed at the beginning
of the Fifth Republic by
Charles de Gaulle, are used in
France, Finland
, Poland
, Romania
, Russia
, Sri Lanka
and several post-colonial countries which have emulated
the French model.
Parliamentary systems
Another system is the
Parliamentary republic, where the
Presidency is largely ceremonial. This system is mainly used in
former one-party states and constitutional monarchies.
Countries using this
system include the Republic of Ireland
, Malta
, Italy
, Austria
, Iceland
,Germany
and Greece
.
Collective Presidency
Only a tiny minority of modern republics do not have a single head
of state; examples include:
Presidents in dictatorships
In
dictatorships, the title is
frequently taken by self-appointed and/or military-backed leaders.
Such is the case in many African states;
Idi
Amin in
Uganda, for example.
President for Life is a title
assumed by some
dictators to ensure that
their authority or legitimacy is never questioned.
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
appointed himself in 82 BC to an entirely new office, dictator
rei publicae constituendae causa, which
was functionally identical to the dictatorate rei gerendae causa
except that it lacked any set time limit, although Sulla held this
office for over two years before he voluntarily abdicated and
retired from public life.The second well-known incident of a leader
extending his term indefinitely was Roman dictator
Julius Caesar, who made himself "
Perpetual Dictator" (commonly mistranslated
as 'Dictator-for-life') in 45 BC. His actions would later be
mimicked by the French leader
Napoleon Bonaparte who was appointed
"First Consul for life" in 1802.
Ironically, most leaders who proclaim themselves President for Life
do not in fact successfully serve a life term. Even so presidents
like
Alexandre
Sabès dit Pétion,
Rafael Carrera,
Josip Broz Tito and
François Duvalier died in
office.
The last
living person to be officially proclaimed president for life was
the late Saparmurat Niyazov of
Turkmenistan
.
Several presidents have ruled until their death, but they have not
officially proclaimed themselves as President for Life.
For
instance, Nicolae Ceauşescu
of Romania, who ruled
until his execution (see Romanian revolution).
Presidential symbols
As the country's head of state, in most countries the president is
entitled to certain perquisites, and may have a prestigious
residence; often a lavish mansion or palace, sometimes more than
one (e.g. summer and winter residence, country retreat) - for a
list see
Official
residence.
Furthermore in some nations the Presidency enjoys certain symbols
of office, such as an official uniform, decorations, a presidential
seal, coat of arms, flag and other visible accessories; military
honours such as
gun salutes,
Ruffles and flourishes, and a
presidential guard. A common presidential symbol is the
presidential sashes worn by
Latin American presidents as a symbol of the
presidency's continuity, and presenting the sash to the new
president.
Presidential chronologies of United
Nations member countries
Presidential titles for non heads of state
As head of government
Some countries with parliamentary systems use a term
meaning/translating as 'president' (in some languages
indistinguishable from chairman) for the head of parliamentary
government, often as
President of the Government,
President of the
Council of Ministers or
President of the Executive
Council.
However, such an official is explicitly not the president of the
country. Rather, he is called a
president in an older sense of
the word to denote the fact that he heads the
cabinet. A separate
head of state generally exists in their
country that instead serves as the president or monarch of the
country.
Thus, such officials are really
premiers,
and to avoid confusion are often described simply as 'prime
minister' when being mentioned internationally.
There are several examples for this kind of presidency:
Other executive positions
Sub-national presidents
President
can also be the title of the chief executive at a lower
administrative level, such as the parish president of the parishes of the U.S. state
of Louisiana
, the presiding member of city council for villages
in the U.S. state of Illinois
, or the municipal
presidents of Mexico's municipalities. Perhaps the best
known sub-national presidents are the borough presidents of the Five Boroughs of New York City
.
Québec
In
Québec
, Canada
the Speaker of the National Assembly of
Quebec is termed President since
1968
Presidential ranks
Below a President, there can be a number of vice-presidents. This
rank does not hold the same power, but power can be transferred in
special circumstances. Normally Vice-Presidents hold some power and
special responsibilities below that of the President.
Judiciary
France
In
French legal terminology, the president of a court
consisting of multiple judges is the foremost
judge; he chairs the meeting of the court and directs the debates
(and this thus addressed as "Mr President", Monsieur le
Président, or appropriate feminine forms). In general,
a court comprises several chambers, each with its own president;
thus the most senior of these is called the "first president" (as
in: "the First President of the
Court of Cassation is the most
senior judge in France"). Similarly in English legal practice the
most senior judge in each division uses this title (e.g. President
of the Family Division, President of the Court of Appeal).
Scotland
The
Lord President of
the Court of Session is head of the judiciary in Scotland
, and presiding judge (and Senator) of the College of Justice and Court of
Session
, as well as being Lord Justice General of Scotland
and head of the High Court of Justiciary
, the offices having been combined in
1784.
Non-governmental presidents
President is also used as a title in some non-governmental
organizations.
The head of a university or non-profit corporation, particularly in
the United States of America, is often known as president. In
academic or education systems with multiple independent campuses,
the relationship between the roles of
university president and
chancellor can become quite
complicated. President is also a title in many corporations. In
some cases the president acts as
chief operating officer under the
direction of the
chief executive
officer. Alternatively, in the U.S., the chairperson of the
board of directors may be called
the president.
In
The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the head of the
church is known as the
President. Together with
his two counselors, they are known as the
First Presidency. This pattern is repeated
throughout the church in
quorums
and in other bodies, each of which is led by a president. The
Methodist Church in the UK (and
also other provinces) is led by the President of the Methodist
Council, and assumes the role of leading minister and
spokesperson.
Many other organisations, clubs, and committees, both political and
non-political are led by Presidents as well. Examples can vary from
the President of a
political party,
to the president of a
chamber of
commerce, to the President of a
students' union and even the president of a
high school chess club.
Sources and additional reading
- The powers, functions and functioning of presidents were
reviewed by six international experts for Australia's Republic Advisory Committee in
1993. Reports by among others Professor Klaus Von Beyme (on Germany), A. G. Noorani (on India), Jim Duffy (on Ireland) and Sir Ellis Clarke (on Trinidad and Tobago) outline
the role of various presidencies. The full report is called An
Australian Republic: The Options - The Appendices (ISBN
0-644-32589-5)
See also
References
- OED, s. v.
, where the headship of state is collectively vested
in the seven-member Swiss Federal
Council despite the fact the system includes a president of the
Confederation. The president is a member of the Federal
Council elected by the Federal Assembly (the Swiss
Parliament) for a year (constitutional
convention mandates that the post rotates every New Year's Day).
elected by the Grand and General
Council.
, while the real power was exercised by the general secretary of the Communist Party, the Presidium of
the Supreme Soviet
executed powers of collective head of state, and its chairman was often called "president" in the
West.
, and informally known as the "president".
Spain is also a kingdom with a reigning king.
Wikis
Quiz
Facts
Map
Misc
Search
