President of West Miersa

President of West Miersa
Emblem
Incumbent Sylwester Wrzesiński since 3 October, 2016
Term length	Two terms (maximum, five-year terms)
Constituting instrument	Constitution of West Miersa
Inaugural holder	Świętosław Wojdyla
Formation	3 October, 1936
Deputy	Minister-President of West Miersa

The President of the Miersan Sotirian Republic (Miersan: Prezydent mierskiej rzeczpospolitej sotyrskiej), commonly known as the President of West Miersa (Prezydent Mierski Zachodniej) is the head of state of the Miersan Sotirian Republic. Created in 1936 with the establishment of West Miersa, it was constitutionally defined as being the head of state, but over the decades has also become the de-facto head of government.

With the passage of the third amendment to the West Miersan constitution in October 2020, the Presidency will become an executive presidency from the 2021 general election, with the position of Minister-President being abolished in favour of a new Vice-Presidency.

History

With the independence of West Miersa from Soravia following the implementation of the Godfredson Plan in 1936, the drafters of the West Miersan constitution sought to create a head of state modelled on the Soravian Presidency, elected every five years by the people of the Miersan Sotirian Republic. However, unlike Soravia, the framers decided to institute term limits, with each President only being re-elected once.

Although the Presidency was not intended to be as centralised as the Soravian Presidency, with powers being distributed to the legislature and the voivodeships, following the accession of Świętosław Wojdyla to the Presidency in 1936, Wojdyla centralised powers in the Presidency, enabling a domination of West Miersan politics by the Wojdyla family from independence until 1986: by the time of the Miersan War in 1979, the President was by far the de-facto head of government, with the Minister-President effectively being a puppet of the President.

In the 2000s, many of the de-facto powers of the Presidency were "granted" to the Minister-President by Tomisław Sobolewski, who delegated powers to Oskar Palubicki. However, following the election of Gerard Wojdyla to the Minister-Presidency in 2011, Sobolewski and Gerard Wojdyla engaged in a power struggle that ultimately lead to Sobolewski resigning in 2013 after the Soravian government backed Wojdyla. However, in 2016, after Wojdyla was succeeded as President by incumbent Sylwester Wrzesiński, Wrzesiński was able to reverse the liberalisation made by Sobolewski.

Role

Under the West Miersan constitution, the President functions as the head of state of the Miersan Sotirian Republic, with the power to sign legislation into law, to appoint and dismiss the Minister-President of the Miersan Sotirian Republic from among the National Assembly, and to appoint legislators to represent what the West Miersan government considers to be "voivodeships under Kirenian occupation."

In addition, the President of the Miersan Sotirian Republic has an obligation to represent all Miersans, both within the Miersan Sotirian Republic, but also on the international stage.

Although officially, the President is merely the head of state, over the decades, particularly during the Wojdyla family's domination of West Miersa from 1936 until 1986, power has been de-facto centralised in the presidency, with most of the powers legally assigned to the Minister-President often being exercised by the President's office. While some presidents, most notably Tomisław Sobolewski and Gerard Wojdyla have allowed the Minister-President to exercise their powers, this has generally been the exception rather than the norm.

Official residence

Żobrodź Castle, West Żobrodź, 2013

The President of the Miersan Sotirian Republic has an official residence in the capital city of West Żobrodź, known as the Żobrodź Castle.

Historically, this was the residence of the royal family of Miersa, serving as one of their residences up until the start of the Interregnum in 1623. Following the end of the War of the Miersan Succession, it became the residence of the dukes of Żobrodź, remaining until 1687, when the Duchy of Żobrodź was abolished. Throughout the next two-and-a-half centuries, Żobrodź Castle served as the residence for various officials, although due to its location near the border with the Gaullican-controlled regions of Miersa, the Soravians prefered to set their capital in Krada.

Following the independence of the Miersan Sotirian Republic from Soravia in 1936, Żobrodź Castle quickly became the official residence of the presidency, serving in this role continuously since then, with the exception of the Miersan War, when after the fall of Żobrodź, the residence ended up under eastern control. The castle was severely damaged, and in the aftermath, had to be rebuilt, although the reconstruction was not faithful to the original designs, as the then-President sought to modernize the castle to make it more comfortable for his family, and equipping the offices with the latest technologies as was in existence at the time.

List of Presidents

№	President		Term of office			Political Party	Elected	Minister-Presidents
	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took Office	Left Office	Days
1936-present • President of the Miersan Sotirian Republic •
1		Świętosław Wojdyla (1874-1953)	3 October, 1936	3 October, 1946	3652	Nationals	1936 1941	Więcesław Pawlicki Cezary Wojdyla Maurycy Wojdyla
2		Maurycy Wojdyla (1877-1963)	3 October, 1946	3 October, 1956	3653	Nationals	1946 1951	Tobiasz Wojdyla Kacper Niemczyk Iwon Wojdyla
3		Iwon Wojdyla (1906-1989)	3 October, 1956	3 October, 1961	1826	Nationals	1956	Lesław Przybyszewski Romuald Wojdyla
4		Romuald Wojdyla (1909-1992)	3 October, 1961	3 October, 1971	3652	Nationals	1961 1966	Eliasz Kempisty Kacper Niemczyk Tadeusz Wojdyla
5		Tadeusz Wojdyla (1913-2001)	3 October, 1971	3 October, 1986	5479	Nationals	1971 1976	Inocenty Wojdyla Stanisław Kantorowicz Arkadiusz Stuczynski Florentyn Wojdyla
6		Maksymilian Trzeciak (1919-2010)	3 October, 1986	3 October, 1996	3653	Naprzód	1986 1991	Ksawery Sulewski Korneli Krasowsky Damian Jackowiak
7		Damian Jackowiak (1943-)	3 October, 1996	3 October, 2006	3652	Naprzód	1996 2001	Korneliusz Cygan Tomisław Sobolewski
8		Tomisław Sobolewski (1954-)	3 October, 2006	23 June, 2013	2455	Naprzód	2006 2011	Oskar Palubicki Gerard Wojdyla
-		Gerard Wojdyla (1959-)	23 June, 2013	3 October, 2016	1198	Nationals	none	Aleksandra Wojdyla
9		Sylwester Wrzesiński (1949-)	3 October, 2016	incumbent	2972	Naprzód	2016	Adrian Rozak

Living former Presidents

Since the election of Sylwester Wrzesiński to the Presidency in 2016, there have been three living former Presidents of the Miersan Sotirian Republic.

• 

  Damian Jackowiak
  served 1996-2006
  born 1943 (age 81)

• 

  Tomisław Sobolewski
  served 2006-2013
  born 1954 (age 70)

• 

  Gerard Wojdyla
  served 2013-2016
  born 1959 (age 65)