President of Belmonte

President of Belmonte
Presidente de Belmonte
Coat of arms of Belmonte
Flag of Belmonte
Incumbent Caetano Villa-Lobos since 15 September 2015
Government of Belmonte National Defence Council State Council
Style	Mr. President (informal) The Most Excellent (formal) Excellency (international)
Status	Head of state
Member of	State Council · National Defence Council
Residence	Mascarenhas Palace
Seat	Castelonovo
Appointer	Direct election Two-round system Universal suffrage
Term length	Five years Renewable once consecutively.
Constituting instrument	Constitution
Formation	10 January 1793
First holder	Jorge Aranha
Salary	$68,837
Website	wwww.belmonte.gov.be

The President of Belmonte (Luzelese: Presidente de Belmonte), officially the President of the United Republic of Belmonte (Luzelese: Presidente da República Unida de Belmonte), is the head of state of Belmonte. The president is the highest elected officer of the republic and the personification of the state, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.

The office of the president was officially created in 1792 after the liberal victory at the Federalist Revolt, which overthrew the former confederation and established a federal presidential republic. Before that, the title of head of state was given to the Captain-Regent, an oligarchic post elected by the regional elites. However, years of liberal rule led to political oppression against the opposition whilst Congress became reduced to an advisory institution, with the country effectively becoming a one-party state which resulted in the 1828 Coup by conservative sections of the Armed Forces followed by the dictatorship of Joaquim Durão. After the Belmontese Revolution, both parties at the Riachuelo Agreement decided to diminish the presidency's powers by establishing a parliamentary republic, with the president acting as a mediator between government and opposition while the office itself would be rotated between liberals and conservatives, with its power further decreased with the establishment of the New Republic in 1935.

The president is elected through the popular vote for a five-year term that could be renewed consecutively. Despite being a mostly ceremonial office, it's the role of the president to appoint and dismiss the premier and his cabinet, dissolve the National Congress, declare general elections and command the Armed Forces. The president has the Council of State as his official advisory council and is the head of the National Defence Council as well.

History

Main article: History of Belmonte

After Belmontese independence in 1761, the Confederation of Belmonte, an oligarchic state largely based around slavery and monoculture, was established, alienating many liberal-minded intellectuals and officers. Further oppression against these groups led to the Federalist Revolt and the establishment of the First Belmontese Republic, a federal presidential republic in which the presidency was created and granted several powers, with Jorge Aranha becoming the country's first holder of the office.

However, after the consolidation of liberal rule over the years, many political oppositors started to become persecuted and oppressed whilst Congress had its powers reduced into a mere advisory council, making Belmonte a one-party state. This political situation would lead to a coup which deposed president Veríssimo and put conservative politician Joaquim Durão in charge as a dictator. After Durão's fall in the Belmontese Revolution in 1836, both liberals and conservatives decided to met in Riachuelo to ensure long-term stability in the newly-created Second Republic, being known as the Riachuelo Agreement. In the agreement, it was decided that the presidency would be rotated among the two parties, but most political powers would fall into Congress and the premier, with the president itself acting more of a mediator among those groups.

By the early 1900s, the agreement would be broken, causing a large political crisis which led to the National Renovation Coup and the establishment of Berquó's dictatorial regime that lasted until the Great War. After the end of the conflict, the current Third Republic was established, with the constitution stripping the remaining presidential powers thus becoming a largely ceremonial role.

Appointment

I promise to preserve, defend and uphold the Constitution, observe the Laws, promote the general welfare of the Belmontese people, and to sustain the union, the integrity and the independence of Belmonte.

 — Presidential oath of office

The president is elected for a five-year term that could be re-elected once consecutively through universal suffrage under a two-round system. If no candidate manages to get more than half of the popular vote on the first round, the two most voted candidates face each other once again in a second round held weeks later.

Qualifications for office

According to the constitution, for someone be qualified to become president, the candidate must be 35 years old or older on election day and must have his full political and civil rights. The application for candidacy must be sent to the Supreme Court four months before the election and could be rejected if any irregularity is found, despite this being extremely rare to happen.

Inauguration

Soon after the election, the country enters into a transition period that lasts until September 15th, when, by tradition, occurs the presidential inauguration in the National Congress, where it's declared its oath.

After the oath, the new president goes to his official residence, the Mascarenhas Palace, where it happens the presidential sash change ceremony and meets with international representatives. Followed by the ceremony, an inaugural ball happens at the night of inauguration day, being present on such ceremony the premier and his cabinet, congressmen, supreme court judges, mayors, governors, ambassadors, diplomats and other guests invited at the president's will.

Impeachment and removal

The president could be impeached if it's proven that he committed any irregularity during his tenure. If two-thirds of the Chamber of Deputies vote in favour of the process, the president is temporarily removed from office whilst the speaker of the House assumes provisorily and, if the majority of the Senate votes for the continuation of the procedure, he is officially impeached. If the Senate votes against it, the president is sworn in again and the process is abrogated.

Given the president's ceremonial nature and non-partisan role, no president had an impeachment process opened against him nor has any president been impeached at all.

Succession

In case of resignation, impeachment or incapacitation of the president, the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies is sworn in as acting president for the remainder of the term until new elections are held.

Role and powers

The president's roles and powers have been greatly changed throughout its history. Since the establishment of the Second Republic, the presidency saw a decreasing of its powers over government affairs, being only responsible for acting as a mediator between the government and opposition whilst most of its powers were now being delegated to the premier and his cabinet. This was temporarily changed with the establishment of Berquó's dictatorship in 1915 but, followed by the creation of the New Republic twenty years later, the office was once again stripped from the majority of its powers, becoming a mostly-ceremonial role.

Although being a largely figurative post, the president still has a considerable amount of duties and powers as the head of the executive. It's the responsibility of the president to appoint the premier and his cabinet after general elections, being generally but not necessarily the leader of the party with the majority of seats in Congress. If such parliamentary confidence is lost, the president has the option to either dismiss the current government and appoint a new premier or to dissolve Congress and declare snap elections. The president is also responsible for enacting every law passed by Congress and can veto them too, with the veto itself being able to be overturned by the Senate.

The president is also the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, being able to, although with the consent of both Congress and the premier, proclaim a state of siege and declare war. He is also responsible for command the National Force, which is used in cases of public unrest.

Internationally, it's the responsibility of the president to represent Belmonte on the world stage, with all diplomatic treaties being signed on his behalf. The president is also capable of issue pardons to condemned felons.

Benefits

Mascarenhas Palace

Residence

Since 1906, the official residence of all Belmontese presidents is the Mascarenhas Palace, which is located at the República borough in central Castelonovo. Before its construction, the official residence was the Cristaleiras Palace, which was demolished in 1912 to give space for the construction of a park. Other official residences are the Cintra House, which serves as a country retreat, and the Pascoal House, which is the presidential residence in Guanabara.

Salary

Currently, the salary of the president is $68,837 per month. The president also receives other benefits during and after his term.

List

Main article: List of heads of state of Belmonte

Living former presidents

There are two living former Belmontese presidents:

• 

  Afonso de Pádua
  (1990-1995)

• 

  Raposo Noronha
  (2000-2010)

See also

List of Belmontese presidents Government of Belmonte

National Defence Council State Council