President of Vyvland

President of Vyvland
Incumbent Pamela Oegelkeper since 18 June 2014
Style	The Righteous
Residence	Brynel Palace, Lorence
Term length	Up to four years
Formation	24 June 1986
First holder	Enrig Dalder

The President (Vyvlander: Presideer) is the head of state of Vyvland. The position is the second-most powerful political office in the country, below that of the Prime Minister. The office of President has been occupied by seven individuals since the inaugural presidential election in 1986, with the longest-serving and inagural holder being Enrig Dalder. The current President is Pamela Oegelkeper, an independent politician, who has held the offfice since the 2014 presidential election.

The President can not be a sitting member of the Parliament of Vyvland, and must be over 21. They are elected every four years by all adults over 16, or sooner if they choose to resign. The President is responsible for the many ceremonial and official diplomatic and international roles, in contrast to the Prime Minister, who deals more with day-to-day government. The President is the usual representative of Vyvland in diplomacy and international affairs, and also holds a ceremonial position on the National Commission, Vyvland's cabinet.

History

The position of President was created in 1986 by the government of Abram Zymeker, after coalition negotiations aiming for a more representative democracy, and a replacement for the monarchy, which had been ousted upon Vyvlander reunification in 1983. The first presidential election coincided with the general election that year, and ex-Finance Minister Enrig Dalder was elected to the office. After having served for ten years, Dalder resigned in 1996, giving way to his deputy, Erik Menjreng. Dalder's strong popularity meant that his endorsement for Menjreng was crucial in Menjreng's success in the 1996 election.

However, Menjreng was far less successful in government due to long-running disputes between himself, a member of the centre-right Christian Democratic and Conservative Party, and Mafjas Skenterby's centre-left Socialist-Liberal-Green coalition; his term included a period of four months in which no bills were passed by Parliament. The power wielded by Menjreng against the wishes of Parliament was highly criticised at the time and forced his resignation in 1998. Conservative Prime Ministerial and Presidential candidates Rikard Fegaad and Lurs Anterbiden pledged to reform the office should they take power, which happened in the 1998 elections.

The reforms were eventually passed, which meant that the Presidency was transformed from a position with real political power to one of mostly ceremonial duties - the 1999 Presidential Reform Act also contained a clause officially stipulating that the President was subordinate in power to the Prime Minister. Thus, the five following Presidents have taken increasingly ceremonial and apolitical roles.

List of Presidents

Political Party

  Liberal   Socialist   Conservative   Independent

Portrait		Name	Term of Office			Political Party	Election
			Start	End	Duration
	File:Enrig Dalder.jpg	Enrig Dalder	24 June 1986	June 1990	10 years, 23 days	Liberal Party	1986
			June 1990	June 1994			1990
			June 1994	17 July 1996			1994
		Erik Menjreng	17 July 1996	30 April 1998	1 year, 287 days	Christian Democratic and Conservative Party	1996
		Lurs Anterbiden	30 April 1998	3 June 2002	4 years, 64 days	Christian Democratic and Conservative Party	1998
		Bernurd Venes	3 June 2002	5 June 2006	4 years, 2 days	Independent	2002
		Sofia Beket	5 June 2006	7 June 2010	4 years, 2 days	Socialist Party	2006
	File:Robert Ujson.jpg	Robert Ujson	7 June 2010	18 June 2014	3 years, 346 days	Liberal Party	2010
		Pamela Oegelkeper	18 June 2014	incumbent	10 years, 184 days	Independent	2014