President (government title)

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President is a common title for the head of state in most republics. The president of a state is, generally speaking, the head of the government and the fundamental leader of the country or the ceremonial head of state.

Five American Presidents in the White House in 2009

The functions exercised by a president vary according to the form of government. In parliamentary republics, they are usually, but not always, limited to those of the head of state and are thus largely ceremonial. In presidential, selected parliamentary (e.g. Botswana and South Africa),[1][2] and semi-presidential republics, the role of the president is more prominent, encompassing also (in most cases) the functions of the head of government.[3] A leader of a one-party state may also hold the position of president for ceremonial purposes or to maintain an official state position.[4]

President Isaias Afwerki of the State of Eritrea giving a press briefing in the capital Asmara, 2002

The titles "Mr. President"

speaker of the House of Commons of Canada
is addressed as président de la Chambre des communes in French and as Mr. Speaker in English.

History

The title president is derived from the

president of the Royal Society William Brouncker in 1660. This usage survives today in the title of such offices as "President of the Board of Trade" and "Lord President of the Council" in the United Kingdom, as well as "President of the Senate" in the United States (one of the roles constitutionally assigned to the vice president). The officiating priest at certain Anglican
religious services, too, is sometimes called the "president" in this sense.

The most common modern usage is as the title of a head of state in a republic. The first usage of the word president to denote the highest official in a government was during the Commonwealth of England.

Commonwealth

Thomas Hungerford, who became the first speaker of the English House of Commons
in 1376, used the title, "Mr. Speaker", a precedent followed by subsequent speakers of the House of Commons.

After the abolition of the monarchy the English

Privy Council, which had previously been headed by the lord president; its successor the Council of State was also headed by a lord president, the first of which was John Bradshaw
. However, the lord president alone was not head of state, because that office was vested in the council as a whole.

The

speaker of the House of Commons of Canada
, established in 1867, is also addressed as "Monsieur le Président" or "Madame la Présidente" in French.

France

In pre-revolutionary

King's nominees. The Parlements were abolished by the French Revolution
. In modern France the chief judge of a court is known as its president (président de la cour).

By the 18th century, the president of a

Second French Republic
was established in 1848, "Monsieur le Président" became the title of the president of the French Republic.

In

Les Liaisons Dangereuses
of 1782, the character identified as Madame la Présidente de Tourvel ("Madam President of Tourvel") is the wife of a magistrate in a parlement. The fictional name Tourvel refers not to the parlement in which the magistrate sits, but rather, in imitation of an aristocratic title, to his private estate. This influenced parliamentary usage in France.

United States

The modern usage of the term president to designate a single person who is the

Vice-Chancellor". But America's first institutions of higher learning (such as Harvard University and Yale University) did not resemble a full-sized university so much as one of its constituent colleges. A number of colleges at Cambridge University featured an official called the "president". The head, for instance, of Magdalene College, Cambridge was called the master and his second the president. The first president of Harvard, Henry Dunster
, had been educated at Magdalene. Some have speculated that he borrowed the term out of a sense of humility, considering himself only a temporary place-holder. The presiding official of Yale College, originally a "rector" (after the usage of continental European universities), became "president" in 1745.

A common style of address for presidents, "Mr/Mrs. President", is borrowed from British Parliamentary tradition, in which the presiding Speaker of the

president of the Republic and to chief judges. In the United States, the title "Mr. President" is used in a number of formal instances as well: for example anyone presiding over the United States Senate is addressed as "Mr./Madam President", especially the vice president, who is the president of the Senate
. Other uses of the title include presidents of state and local legislatures, however only the president of the United States uses the title outside of formal sessions.

George Washington, the first president of the United States

The 1787

congressional committee. There Adams agitated for the adoption of the style of Highness (as well as the title of Protector of Their [the United States'] Liberties) for the president.[10] Adams and Lee were among the most outspoken proponents of an exalted presidential title.[9]

Others favored the variant of Electoral Highness or the lesser Excellency, the latter of which was vociferously opposed by Adams, who contended that it was far beneath the presidential dignity, as the executives of the states, some of which were also titled "President" (e.g. the president of Pennsylvania), at that time often enjoyed the style of Excellency; Adams said the president "would be leveled with colonial governors or with functionaries from German princedoms" if he were to use the style of Excellency. Adams and Richard Henry Lee both feared that cabals of powerful senators would unduly influence a weak executive, and saw an exalted title as a way of strengthening the presidency.[11] On further consideration, Adams deemed even Highness insufficient and instead proposed that the executive, both the president and the vice president (i.e., himself), be styled Majesty to prevent the "great danger" of an executive with insufficient dignity.[10] Adams' efforts were met with widespread derision and perplexion; Thomas Jefferson called them "the most superlatively ridiculous thing I ever heard of", while Benjamin Franklin considered it "absolutely mad".[10]

Washington consented to the demands of James Madison and the United States House of Representatives that the title be altered to "Mr. President".[12][13][14][15] Nonetheless, later "The Honorable" became the standard title of the President in formal address, and "His/Her Excellency" became the title of the President when addressed formally internationally.

Historically, the title was reserved for the incumbent president only, and was not to be used for former presidents, holding that it was not proper to use the title as a courtesy title when addressing a former president.[16][17][18][19][20] According to the official website of the United States of America, the correct way to address a letter is to use "The Honorable John Doe" and the correct salutation is "Mr. Doe".[21]

Once the United States adopted the title of "president" for its republican head of state, many other nations followed suit.

Other countries

Napoleon Bonaparte. The first African president was the president of Liberia (1848),[22] while the first Asian president was the president of the Republic of China (1912).[23]

Description

In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the powers of presidencies have varied from country to country. The spectrum of power has included presidents-for-life and hereditary presidencies to ceremonial heads of state.

Presidents in the countries with a democratic or representative form of government are usually elected for a specified period of time and in some cases may be re-elected by the same process by which they are appointed, i.e. in many nations, periodic popular elections. The powers vested in such presidents vary considerably. Some presidencies, such as that of Ireland, are largely ceremonial, whereas other systems vest the president with substantive powers such as the appointment and dismissal of prime ministers or cabinets, the power to declare war, and powers of veto on legislation. In many nations the president is also the commander-in-chief of the nation's armed forces, though once again this can range from a ceremonial role to one with considerable authority.

Presidential systems

Presidents Barack Obama of the United States and Dilma Rousseff of Brazil

In almost all states with a

Fourth French Republics. In the United States
the president has always been both Head of State and Head of Government and has always had the title of President.

Presidents in this system are either directly elected by popular vote or indirectly elected by an electoral college or some other democratically elected body.

In the

2016
), the candidate with the most popular votes still lost the election.

Presidents Johnson-Sirleaf and Bush of Liberia and the United States

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 without an absolute majority. The president is allowed to serve only one term.

In

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, African and some Asian nations follow the presidential model.

Semi-presidential systems

Emmanuel Macron, President of France

A second system is the

post-colonial countries which have emulated the French model. In Finland, although the 2000 constitution moved towards a ceremonial presidency, the system is still formally semi-presidential, with the president of Finland
retaining e.g. foreign policy and appointment powers.

Presidents Pratibha Patil of India and Lee Myung-bak of South Korea

Parliamentary republics

The

prime minister who automatically assumes the post as head of a majority party or coalition, but takes oath of office administered by the president. However, the president is head of the civil service, commander in chief of the armed forces and in some cases can dissolve parliament. Countries using this system include Austria, Armenia, Albania, Bangladesh, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy,[24] Malta, Pakistan, and Singapore
.

A variation of the parliamentary republic is a system with an executive president in which the president is the head of state and the government but unlike a presidential system, is elected by and accountable to a parliament, and referred to as president. Countries using this system include Botswana, Nauru and South Africa.

Dictatorships

Suharto (L), Konstantin Päts (M) and Saddam Hussein (R) are examples of dictatorial leaders who used the title "President".

In

Craveiro Lopes in Portugal and Joaquín Balaguer under the "Trujillo Era" of the Dominican Republic
.

Eternal President of the Republic
after his death.

Collective presidency

Swiss Federal Council serves as collective head of government and state of Switzerland
.

Only a tiny minority of modern republics do not have a single head of state. Some examples of this are:

One-party states

The president of China is the head of state of the People's Republic of China. Under the country's constitution, the presidency is a largely ceremonial office with limited power. However, since 1993, as a matter of convention, the presidency has been held simultaneously by the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, the top leader in the single-party system.

In China between 1982 and 2018, the constitution stipulated that the president could not serve more than two consecutive terms. During the

term limits
attached to this office. In 2018, the term limits of the presidency were abolished, but its powers and ceremonial role were unchanged.

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 residences, or a country retreat) Customary symbols of office may include an official uniform, decorations, a presidential seal, coat of arms, flag and other visible accessories, as well as military honours such as

presidential sash worn most often by presidents in Latin America and Africa as a symbol of the continuity of the office.[25]

Presidential chronologies

United Nations member countries in columns, other entities at the beginning:

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. These officials are called "president" using an older sense of the word, to denote the fact that the official heads the cabinet. A separate head of state generally exists in their country who 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

President can also be the title of the chief executive at a lower administrative level, such as the

five boroughs of New York City
.

Poland

In Poland, the president of the city (Polish: Prezydent miasta) is the executive authority of the municipality elected in direct elections, the equivalent of the mayor. The Office of the President (Mayor) is also found in Germany and Switzerland.

Russia

Governors of

nation-states
than with ordinary administrative divisions, at least in spirit, and would choose titles accordingly.

Over the course of the 2010s the presidents of Russian republics would progressively change their title to that of

Dmitriy Medvedev in 2010. Despite this, however, presidents of Tatarstan
would reject this change and, as of 2017, retain their title in defiance of Russian law. The new title did not result in any changes in the powers wielded by the governors.

United Kingdom

The

Privy Council; the Cabinet headed by the prime minister is technically a committee of the Council, and all decisions of the Cabinet are formally approved through Orders in Council. Although the lord president is a member of the Cabinet, the position is largely a ceremonial one and is traditionally given to either the leader of the House of Commons or the leader of the House of Lords
.

Historically the president of the Board of Trade was a cabinet member.

Dependencies

In Alderney, the elected head of government is called the president of the States of Alderney.

In the Isle of Man, there is a president of Tynwald.

Spain

In

autonomous communities
(regions) are called presidents. In each community, they can be called Presidente de la Comunidad or Presidente del Consejo among others. They are elected by their respective regional assemblies and have similar powers to a state president or governor.

Deputies

Below a president, there can be a number of or "vice presidents" (or occasionally "deputy presidents") and sometimes several "assistant presidents" or "assistant vice presidents", depending on the organisation and its size. These posts do not hold the same power but more of a subordinate position to the president. However, power can be transferred in special circumstances to the deputy or vice president. Normally vice presidents hold some power and special responsibilities below that of the president. The difference between vice/deputy presidents and assistant/associate vice presidents is the former are legally allowed to run an organisation, exercising the same powers (as well as being second in command) whereas the latter are not.

Legislatures

In some countries the speaker of their unicameral legislatures, or of one or both houses of bicameral legislatures, the speakers have the title of president of "the body", as in the case of

president of the Senate
.

Judiciary

The term 'President' is usually used in

constitutional courts
.

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 is thus addressed as "Mrs President", "Madame la Présidente", "Mr President", or Monsieur le Président. 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).

Spain

In the

Regional High Courts of Justice and in the Provincial Courts. The body that rules over the Judiciary in Spain is the General Council of the Judiciary
, and its president is the president of the Supreme Court, which is normally called President of the Supreme Court and of the GCJ.

The Constitutional Court is not part of the Judiciary, but the leader of it is called President of the Constitutional Court.

United Kingdom

In the recently established Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the most senior judge is called the president of the Supreme Court. The lady/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 Lady/Lord Justice General of Scotland and head of the High Court of Justiciary, the offices having been combined in 1784.

Spousal or female titles

Titles for a president's spouse, if female, have ranged from "Marquise" to "Lady" to simply "Mrs." (or "Ms.").[14] If male the title of the president's spouse may be "Marquis", "Lord", or merely "Mr.".

United States

President George Washington's wife,

US Civil War. Dolley Madison, the wife of President James Madison, was remembered after her death in 1849 by President Zachary Taylor as "truly our First Lady for a half a century".[26] First ladies are usually referred to simply as "Mrs. [last name]" [27]

In the media

On 8 November 2016, the night of the 2016 presidential election in the United States, images of leaked pre-printed copies of Newsweek magazine showed the magazine celebrating the win of the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, with the cover titled "Madam President". It is common for Newsweek to prepare for the eventuality of either candidate winning, though it was unusual that it was both published and distributed; the cover was pulled from newsstands after it became clear that Donald Trump had secured a majority of electoral votes, winning the election.[28]

See also

Head of state

Other head of government

  • Minister-President
    (a head of government, not of state)
  • Prime minister

References

  1. ^ "Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 – Chapter 5: The President and National Executive". www.gov.za. 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  2. ^ Allard, P (2016). "Government social advertising and ethno-politics in a small, ethnically diverse nation". ResearchGate. p. 67. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  3. . Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  4. ^ "The President, Our Government". The White House. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  5. .
  6. ^ Safire, William (24 November 1991). "On Language; Manhandling the Handlers". The New York Times.
  7. ^ Wood, Lewis (13 May 1945). "Mr. President Is correct". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Bartoloni-Tuazon, Kathleen (2014). For Fear of an Elective King. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. p. 89.
  9. ^ a b Bartoloni-Tuazon, Kathleen (2014). For Fear of an Elective King. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. p. 86.
  10. ^
    JSTOR 363331
    .
  11. ^ Bartoloni-Tuazon, Kathleen (2014). For Fear of an Elective King. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. p. 57.
  12. .
  13. .
  14. ^ .
  15. .
  16. ^ Martin, Judith (21 January 2009). "Miss Manners by Judith Martin". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  17. ^ "Presidents, Vice Presidents, and First Ladies of the United States | USAGov". www.usa.gov. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  18. ^ Martin, Judith (21 October 1992). "Addressing a Former President". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 10 June 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  19. ^ Hickey, Robert. "Is a Former President Addressed as President (name)?". Honor & Respect – The Official Guide to Names, Titles, and Forms of Address. Protocol School of Washington. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  20. ^ Keller, Kerrie (5 January 2013). "Addressing a Former President of the United States". The Emily Post Institute. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2013. When addressing a former President of the United States in a formal setting, the correct form is "Mr. LastName". ("President LastName" or "Mr. President" are terms reserved for the current head of state.)
  21. ^ "Presidents, Vice Presidents, and First Ladies of the United States".
  22. ^ Emma J. Lapsansky-Werner and Margaret Hope Bacon, eds., Back to Africa: Benjamin Coates and the Colonization Movement in America: 1848–1880. State College PA: Pennsylvania State Press, 2010. 57–59. books.google.com/books?id=9X0rc6E9EGkC&pg=PA57
  23. ^ Xu Guoqui, China and the Great War: China's Pursuit of a New National Identity and Internationalization. Cambridge University Press, 2005. 319. books.google.com/books?id=erOGMb8c4XEC&pg=PA319
  24. ^ But presidential moral suasion is increasingly confirming that the "neutral powers", in this country, often find in the head of state the best defender from executive interference: Buonomo, Giampiero (2014). "Autorità indipendenti e sistema costituzionale". L'Ago e Il Filo. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  25. ^ McCullough, J. J. "Presidential Sashes". Archived from the original on 23 January 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  26. .
  27. Executive Office of the President
    . 26 February 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2017. Mrs. Trump added that, "the scents of jasmine and roses fill the air as we give thanks for this great Nation and the glory of renewal."
  28. . Retrieved 17 November 2016.