Saturday, January 17, 2009

Presidents





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).
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, 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.

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.



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:

Switzerland, 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).
The Captains Regent of San Marino elected by the Grand and General Council.
In the Soviet Union, 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.


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).


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.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Грузия конгрессмен предупреждает Обама

ταπεινή Barack Χουσεΐν Ομπάμα скромному Барак Хусейн Обама


Two-year-old Barack Hussein Obama, ...

Sunday, April 13, 2008

U.S. President George W. Bush US President Elected





U.S. President George W. Bush