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President
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HistoryAs 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 from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge (from 1464); the founding President of the Royal Society William Brouncker in 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 followed the American Revolution, and deposed their monarchies, president was commonly adopted as the title for the new republican heads of state.
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HistoryAs 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 from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge (from 1464); the founding President of the Royal Society William Brouncker in 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 followed the American Revolution, and deposed their monarchies, president was commonly adopted as the title for the new republican heads of state. The first European president was the president of France, a post created in the Second Republic of 1848. (The First Republic had begun with no separate executive, then established five directors, and finally echoed the ancient Roman Republic by appointing three consuls at its head.)
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 directs the Executive arm 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, is in effect voting for the candidate. However, in several close U.S. elections (notably 1876, 1888, 2000), the candidate with the most popular votes still lost the electoral count.
Many South American, Central American, and African nations follow the presidential model.
Parliamentary systems Other states have adopted a parliamentary system of government, in which the president is head of state but largely ceremonial. In these cases the separate head of government (often a prime minister), who is usually indirectly elected by the parliamentary majority, holds the executive power and forms the government.
Countries with such systems include most European and Commonwealth republics including Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Hungary, the Republic of Macedonia, Turkey and Singapore, as well as Portugal (which has a slightly different system). The president of Nauru is, however, elected by the pariament according to the Westminster system and acts as both the head of state and head of government. This is also the case for the presidents of Botswana and South Africa (since 1984).
Under such a system, the president as head of state generally takes a similar role to a constitutional monarch, with the government governing in his or her name, producing phrases such as "His/Her Excellency's Government" in formal state documentation.
A president may also possess some reserve powers, which can be exercised by the president without formal advice (that is, binding instruction) from the government. In some constitutional systems the president chairs (at least some) cabinet meetings and often has access to all cabinet memoranda. Especially in fields where protocol is important, such as diplomacy, the head of state tends to be a major player. The president can therefore exercise a degree of informal influence not often publicly realised.
For example,
between 1870 and 1940, and again from 1945 to 1958, France operated a classic parliamentary system of government, with power in a cabinet chosen by the National Assembly, and a largely, though not totally, symbolic president; in 1877, President Mac-Mahon showed that his office was constitutionally significant when he dismissed the prime minister before calling new elections, in the hope of achieving a royalist majority to restore the monarchy (the plan failed).
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.
Collective Presidency Only a tiny minority of modern republics do not have a single head of state; examples include:
Presidents in dictatorshipsIn 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 Ceausescu of Romania, who ruled until his execution (see Romanian revolution). Archbishop President Makarios became president of Cyprus late in his life (in 1960) and ruled until his death in 1977, having successfully won re-election several times.
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 or she is called a president in an older sense of the word to denote the fact that he or she 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 presidentsPresident can also be the title of the chief executive at a lower administrative level, such as the parish presidents 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.
Presidential ranksBelow 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
FranceIn 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).
ScotlandThe 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 1836.
Non-governmental presidents President is also used as a title in some non-governmental organizations.
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