President of the Federal Republic of Hveradalur

Federal President of the Federal Republic of Hveradalur
Seal of the Federal President
Standard of the Federal President
Incumbent Askja Eskelson since 25 December 2014
Style	Your Excellency
Residence	Presidential Palace, Raiko, Federal Republic of Hveradalur
Appointer	People of the Federal Republic of Hveradalur
Term length	8 Years, Renewable three times
Constituting instrument	Constitution of the Federal Republic of Hveradalur
Precursor	King of the Kingdom of Hveradalur
Formation	December 1910
First holder	Kristian Haversson

The Office of the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Hveradalur is the highest Executive Office of Hveradalur and is the Head of State of the Republic.

Under the 1910 Constitution Hveradalur has a Parliamentary System of Government in which the Federal Chancellor is the Head of Government. The Federal President has far-reaching Ceremonial Obligations, but also has the right and duty to act Politically. The Federal President can give direction to the general political and societal debates and have some important reserve powers in case of political instability. The Federal President also holds the prerogative to grant pardons on behalf of the Republic. The Federal President, who can be elected to three consecutive eight-year terms, have wide discretion about how they exercise their official duties.

According to the Federal Constitution, the Federal President represents the Federal Republic of Hveradalur in matters of International Law, concludes treaties with foreign states on its behalf and accredits diplomats. Furthermore, all Federal Laws must be signed by the Federal President before they can come into effect; a Federal President may veto any law if they believe it to violate the Federal Constitution.

The federal president's actions and public appearances represent the state itself, its existence, legitimacy, and unity. The federal president enjoys a higher ranking at official functions than the chancellor. The federal president's role is integrative and includes the control function of upholding the law and the constitution. It is a matter of political tradition – not legal restrictions – that the federal president generally does not comment routinely on issues in the news, particularly when there is some controversy among the political parties. This distance from day-to-day politics and daily governmental issues allows the president to be a source of clarification, to influence public debate, voice criticism, offer suggestions and make proposals. In order to exercise this power, they traditionally act above party politics.

The current office holder is Askja Eskelson, after being elected on 25 December 2014, this is her first term and the next Presidential Election is expected to be held on 25 November 2022 exactly a month before the next President is to take the Oath of Office.

Election

The Federal President is elected for a term of eight years renewable three time by a secret ballot. The Federal Presidential Canidates hold three Official Campaign Speeches that the Government is responsible for hosting. Upon the Election Date which is always a month before the Oath of Office date, 25 December, the election process used to Elected the Federal President is the Gustov Method which has been used since its inception in 1950.

The Federal President may run under a Political Party but is not required to do so by any Federal Law and may be elected as an Independent, out of the fourteen Presidential Elections three Federal Presidents have been elected as Independents.

Qualifications

The office of Federal President is open to all Hveradalur who are entitled to vote in Federal Presidential Elections and have reached the age of 30, but no one may serve more than three consecutive eight-year terms. As yet 2014, only three presidents (INSERT NAMES HERE) have been elected for a second or third term. The federal president must not be a member of the federal government or of a legislature at either the federal or state level.

Oath

After taking office the federal president must take the following oath, stipulated by constitution, in a session of the Alþingi. The religious references may optionally be omitted.

I swear that I will dedicate my efforts to the well-being of the Hveradalur people, enhance their benefits, avert harm from them, uphold and defend the Constitution and the statutes of the Republic, fulfil my duties conscientiously, and do justice to all. (So help me God.)

The Constitution does not consider oaths of office as constitutive but only as affirmative. This means that the president does not have to take the oath in order to enter office and use its constitutional powers. In practice, the oath is usually administered during the first weeks of a president's term on a date convenient for the Alþingi. If a president is re-elected for a second consecutive term, they do not take the oath again.

Duties and Functions

The president is involved in the formation of the Federal Government and remains in close cooperation with it. Basically, the president is free to act on his own discretion. However, according to the Constitution, the decrees, and directives of the president require the countersignature of the chancellor or the corresponding federal minister in charge of the respective field of politics. There is no need for a countersignature if the president proposes, appoints or dismisses the chancellor, convenes or dissolves the Alþingi according to the Constitution, declares a legislative state of emergency, calls on a chancellor and ministers to remain in office after the end of a chancellor's term until a successor is elected or exercises his right to pardon on behalf of the federation, as these are exclusive powers of the president.

Therefore, the president also receives the chancellor regularly for talks on current policy issues. The Federal Presidents also hold talks with individual federal ministers and other senior officials at their own discretion. The "Head of the Office of the President" represents the will and views of the president in the meetings of the Federal Cabinet and reports back to the president.

The Federal Presidents most Prominet Powers and Duties include:

• Proposing the federal chancellor to the Alþingi.
• Appointing and dismissing the federal chancellor and their cabinet ministers
• Dissolving the Alþingi under certain circumstances
• Declaring the legislative state of emergency under certain circumstances
• Convening the Alþingi
• Signing and promulgating laws or vetoing them under certain circumstances
• Appointing and dismissing federal judges, federal civil servants, and commissioned and non-commissioned officers of the Armed Forces
• Exercising the power to pardon individual offenders on behalf of the Republic
• Awarding honors on behalf of the Republic
• Representing Hveradalur at home and abroad

Appointment of the Federal Government

After the Constitution of the new elected Alþingi, which automatically ends the term of the Federal Chancellor, and in every other case in which the Office of Federal Chancellor has fallen vacant (death or resignation), the President will propose an individual as Federal Chancellor and must then, provided the individual is subsequently elected by a majority of the members of the Alþingi on the first ballot, appoint the elected candidate to office. The Alþingi is also free to disregard the Federal Presidents proposal, in which the Alþingi must within fourteen days elect another individual, whom the parties in the Alþingi now choose themselves, to post the same, who the Federal President is obligated to appoint to office. If the Alþingi does not manage to do so, on the fifteenth day after the first balled the Alþingi must hold one last ballot: if an individual is elected by the Alþingi, the Federal President is also obliged to appoint the elected candidate. If no clear consensus was reached, then the Federal President can either appoint as Federal Chancellor the individual who received a plurality of votes on this last ballot or dissolve the Alþingi. The Federal President can dismiss the Federal Chancellor, but only if and when the Alþingi passes a constructive vote of no confidence, electing a new Federal Chancellor following the same procedures as for any appointment of a Federal Chancellor.

The Federal President also appoints and dismisses the remaining members of the Federal Government upon the proposal of the Federal Chancellor. This means that the Federal President can appoint only those candidates presented by the Federal Chancellor. The Federal President can also refuse to dismiss or appoint a Federal Minister proposed by the Federal Chancellor if they feel this person should not be in that Office.

The Federal President also appoints the Federal Justices and Judges of the Federal Judiciary, Federal Civil Servants, and Military Officers of the Armed Forces of the Republic.

Dissolution of the Alþingi

In the event the Alþingi elects an individual for the office of federal chancellor by a plurality of votes, rather than that of a majority, on the fifteenth day of the election process, the Federal President can, at his/her discretion, either appoint that individual or dissolve the Alþingi, triggering a new election. If a vote of no confidence is defeated in the Alþingi, and the incumbent federal chancellor proposes a dissolution, then the federal president may, at his/her discretion, dissolve the Alþingi within twenty-one days. This power of the federal president has only been used once in 1966 and was seen as constitutional.

Promulgation of the law

All federal laws must be signed by the federal president before they can come into effect. The federal president may refuse to sign any law, thus effectively vetoing the law. In principle, the federal president has the full veto authority on any bill, but this has never been used in that effect. Typically, the federal president checks if the law was passed according to the order mandated by the constitution and/or if the content of the law is constitutional. Only in cases in which the federal president had serious doubts about the constitutionality of a bill laid before them, he/she may refuse to sign it. It also has to be stated that the federal president may at his/her own discretion sign such a "vetoed" bill at any later time, if for example the constitution has been changed in the relevant aspect or if the bill in question has been amended according to his/her concerns, because his/her initial refusal to sign a bill is not technically a final veto.

Foreign Relations

The Federal President represents Hveradalur in the International Realm, undertakes Foreign Visits, and receives Foreign Dignitaries. They also conclude treaties with foreign nations, accredit Hveradalur Diplomats and receive the letters of accreditation of Foreign Diplomats.